Love's Enduring Struggle
by Dia.Dahling
Summary: Next in fyd818's Aeternus Amo series. Kyana is caught in a web of lies, betrayal, and deceit that may tear her apart from everyone she loves. Complete!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own "Stargate: Atlantis." I am in no way trying to make a profit off this story, I am merely writing it and posting for my and other people's enjoyment. However, Kyana, Kayla, Jake, Grace, Jadin, Alex, and Skye are all fyd818's.

Synopsis: Kyana is just getting over Jake, when something big happens. She is forced to trust him, but she still doesn't want to. Why is it that every time life is almost normal, something drastic happens? Why does it seem that someone is always out to get her?

Rating: T

Warnings: Violence, some kissing

Pairings: Ronon/Teyla, John/Elizabeth, Kyana/Jake

Spoilers: Any episodes with Genii (particularly Kolya) in them.

Title: _ Love's Enduring Struggle_

Series/Sequel: Takes place five days after "The Day of Love" written by **fyd818.** Sixth in the _Aeternus Amo_ AU series.

Author: Dia.Dahling

Part 1/?

Author's notes: fyd818 and I decided to switch off on stories. I wrote this story with fyd818 as my beta. So, this is the next story in the series started by fyd818. I hope you like it!

**Love's Enduring Struggle**

by

_Dia.Dahling_

**Chapter 1**

"Are you sure that I have to go?" Kyana Dex wasn't happy about going to yet another ceremony, banquet, party, or whatever they call it. She wasn't sure what this one was about, all that she knew was that meant yet another day of sitting up straight and looking pretty.

She always had pressure to act her best, but she knew that it came with being the daughter of Teyla Emmagan. Another thing that came with being her daughter was hearing her speeches. She knew what was coming.

"I know how you feel about this, but this is the lunar festival. Everyone must be there."

_That's right. That's it. The lunar festival. The one where it not only takes all day, but all night!_ Kyana was less than pleased at that thought.

"I know that you are not happy about his, but at least you get to wear the new outfit Kayla gave you for your birthday. . ." Right now, Teyla was grasping at straws. She was willing to do anything at this point just to rush the stubborn girl along. "Look, Kyana. This bracelet that Jake gave you matches the outfit perfectly." She held the piece of jewelry against Kyana's dress to demonstrate.

Kyana's stomach flopped unhappily. _Why did she have to mention his name? Right now, I am so mad at him that I could. . . Well, I don't know, but I am mad! _And, in truth, she had every right to be. He hadn't talked to her for five days, which was unusual compared to their typical daily meetings.

The last time that she saw him was on Valentine's Day when he gave her that dumb bracelet; that beautiful, thoughtful, flawless bracelet.

Teyla _knew _her daughter well enough to know that this was the final, cruel jab that would finally make her give in, or so she thought. Kyana hadn't even heard his name until just now; that only made her want to delay the coming torture even more. _There is no way that he could have an excuse for something like this!_ She fumed inwardly."There is no way that I am wearing that . . ._ thing_!" She protested aloud, her tone barely within the limits of acceptable.

She didn't even try to hide her hostility; she merely sauntered over to her mother, examining the shimmer of the bracelet up against the dress. _Well, it does look awfully good with the dress. It's like he knew. As if he picked it out especially for the outfit. . ._ "Well, I guess that it wouldn't hurt to wear it. It's not like _he _will be there to see me wearing it."

"I think that would be very mature of you." Teyla could think of many better things to say, but she knew that they just meant more precious time to be wasted. There was not that much time until the Jumper left the city, and they needed to be on it. In fact, at this point, she was willing to take Kyana in her pajamas, but she knew that it was unacceptable. So, with quite a bit of rushing, they made it to the Jumper bay, where they met up with Kyana's father, Ronon Dex, and her ten-year-old brother, Jadin.

They arrived early, in fact, and the festivities were grand. Kyana never saw it coming, but she was almost enjoying herself. She was laughing and having a fun time, because everything about it; the conversations, the dancing, the food, it all made her warm inside and out. It helped her realize how neat her mother's culture really was.

Kyana was sitting sipping on a cup of warm Athosian tea and taking a break from the festivities when Ariana walked up. She and Ariana always had a strange relationship; they had a lot of respect for each other. They were friends from the time that they met, even though all they did was talk. Kyana always loved talking with the Athosian girl and knew this is what she would be doing with the rest of her eve.

"So how have you been doing here on the mainland?" Kyana questioned, setting her tea aside for more interesting things.

This was how most of their conversations started, just general small talk. "It is going quite well, each day brings more peace. Things are progressing nicely. How is your life? You sure look good." Ariana always seemed to pay attention to Kyana, almost as if she wanted to be like her.

"I am doing . . . fine." She didn't want to seem too happy; after all, she was just dumped by the guy that she liked and he didn't even have the guts to tell her why.

"Just fine, you look perfect. Everything about you is perfect from your hair, to your dress, to your jewelry," Ariana bubbled, eyes sparkling.

The second that her friend said that, Kyana hid her bracelet as if ashamed of it. She didn't want _it _to be the main topic of conversation.

"What's wrong? Are you ok?" Ariana's smile disappeared in favor of a concerned expression.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't want to talk about it." She averted her green eyes and frowned.

"What happened?" Ariana always closely watched over Kyana, and was somewhat interested in gossip.

Kyana knew that there was no getting past it. Just as she started to explain, she heard a voice; a comforting, yet frustrating voice. Unable to resist, she stopped to listen in.

". . . .this is _really_ important. I need to know."

She jerked her head around, confusion and fury warring in her heart. "_Jake_?" _Surely this is not happening! _"What . . .?"

He spun around to face her at the sound of her incredulous exclamation. "Kya!" He knew that it was dangerous to interrupt her, and even more dangerous to use her nickname, but there were more important things to be done.

_Where does he get off? All this time; all of these emotions and he _cuts me off_? Wait . . . he sounded caring and sweet. What is going on? OK, I have thought this one out a thousand times with a lot of different scenarios, and none of them ended like this!_ Then again, this might be a good thing. . ."Where—?" She paused and drew in a deep breath to keep from irrationally yelling at him. "_Where_ were you?" She figured that, just in case, it was best to give him the benefit of the doubt.

He didn't say anything, he just looked at her with that look that he got when he just wanted to reach out and hug her.

She cleared her throat, somewhat uncomfortably. "Why?" The word just seemed to fall out of her mouth, and then she wished that she could swallow it back. _What? Where did that come from? I sounded like I am sad or worried. Am I? What could he possibly say to make this better? _

"Kyana, we are in trouble." Oh how much he wanted to say so many other things! He wanted to hug her and tell her everything, but he knew that there was a lot more to be done.

"Huh?" She expected something more eloquent to come out, but the response _was_ still valid. Out of all of the answers that she expected from him, 'we are in trouble' was not one of them.

"Come with me, and lay low." He grabbed her hand and led her away from her people and friend.

----

"Well, are we ready?" Elizabeth asked as she put away the outfit she had decided not to wear to the Athosians' lunar festival.

It seemed like she had spent all day in her office with her paperwork, computer, and everything else. The one bright spot was the fact that John had come in to keep her company towards the end of the day. Now, after finally having a chance to leave her office and get dressed, she was finally ready to head out.

"Yeah, let's go." John was actually excited about the festival, and his boyish enthusiasm was making her look forward to the festival even more.

Then she realized how _quiet_ their quarters were. "Where are the kids?" She said with an almost panicked look on her face, feeling bad for having completely forgotten their twin children in all the rush and excitement.

"Relax, Elizabeth. They're with Rodney. We'll meet up with them at the Jumper Bay in ah . . . ooh 5 minutes. We gotta leave!" It didn't take them long to gather the rest of their items and depart from their quarters, heading to the Jumper bay.

"So how long is _this one_ going to last?" Rodney McKay had never like these festivals; but for some reason, he hadn't missed one yet.

"I think that it will be all night, Rodney, why do you ask?" Elizabeth really didn't care; she just wanted to keep the peace. She already had to deal with two children, she didn't need another.

McKay didn't answer. Obviously he had intended it to be a snotty and rhetorical question, and didn't have a response.

"Does that mean that we get to stay up?" Alex Sheppard, John and Elizabeth's little girl, piped in. Judging by the look on her and her brother's faces, the twins liked the sound of this arrangement!

"_No_, that means that there weren't any available sitters. We'll see how the staying-up thing works out." John took charge of the situation and gave the best answer that he could think of as he guided the Jumper across the expanse of ocean between Atlantis and the mainland.

"_Yay_! Mom and Dad said that we could stay up tonight!" Skye and Alex grinned at each other and slapped a high-five from their seats in the rear bay of Jumper 1.

Elizabeth opened her mouth to comment just as John eased the Jumper down next to the others on the mainland. She decided that it wasn't that important. _I'll discuss this with them later._

----

"So, are you enjoying your time with your people?" Ronon, always endeavoring to be sweet to Teyla, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple.

"Yes, I love these times. There is so much joy around; I have missed this." She leaned her head against Ronon's shoulder, her smile melting away. "I fear for Kyana, though. Something is not right with her. I fear that Jake's absence has hurt her." She couldn't help the note of maternal concern that crept into her voice.

"I'm sure that she has realized that either there is a sensible explanation, or he isn't worth the worry. She is strong; really strong." Ronon always thought of his daughter more as a warrior then a vulnerable woman, and also had grown accustomed to her varying moods.

"It is not that simple." Teyla understood her daughter's moods better than her husband, and thus had sympathy. However, she chose not to press the matter, knowing that it was really Kyana's issue and talking about it would be an invasion of her privacy.

That conversation was ended and Ronon strongly felt the need to start a new one. "So, when are Dr. Weir and Sheppard supposed to get here?"

"They radioed about 10 minutes ago saying that they had left. They should be here any minute. I feel honored that they care enough to attend every event." Teyla smiled as Jinto went swirling past, dancing with Kyana's best friend, Kayla Mitchell.

"Something is wrong." Ronon's rumbling voice took on a deeper note as he stiffened next to her, gaze focused on the woods on the other side of the settlement.

"What do you see?" Teyla knew her husband better than to second guess him, and was also aware of the fact that if he said something was wrong, then they needed to take measures of caution. She stood on her tiptoes and strained her neck, but couldn't see anything past the sea of people between her and the woods.

Ronon looked grim. "Over there, in the woods. We have a guest, and not a welcome one."

_To Be Continued. . ._


	2. Chapter 2

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 2/?

Author's notes: Hey! I hoped that you like the last chapter! If you did, thank you!! I want any feedback possible, good or bad! I hope you like!! And thank you again!!

**Chapter 2**

_Should I say something? He told me to "lay low" what is that supposed to mean? Should I trust him? He seems to be the same Jake that I knew before. But where was he and where are we going? _Kyana wasn't sure of anything at the moment except the fact that she didn't know where she was going. "Ok. This is enough. Tell me what is going on!" She decided to compromise. She asked, but quietly enough that she could barely hear it.

"Fair enough." He looked around, and pulled her into a nearby hut, on the outskirts of the village. "Ok, I can't imagine how dumb this may look to you and you can't imagine how much I want to spill it all now, but please trust me. _Please!" _He knew that his words meant nothing to her, so he was relying on the delivery. It worked.

"Ok, but I want an answer, _fast_!" Kyana decided to forgive and trust him . . . for the moment. However, she still wanted control of the situation, at least for now.

"Where are your parents?" He said it so fast and with so much force that it almost scared her.

"They are in the main shelter." _Answers now, explanations later. _

"Go get them, and fast!" He was starting to really make her anxious.

"Ok." She hurried for the door. She was on a mission now, and nothing was going to stop her.

"Kya, wait."

She whipped her head around and looked back at him. His eyes were so caring that it made her even more nervous for some reason, and a little tendril of excitement wrapped around her heart, which suddenly beat much faster. How could she have thrown away her feelings for this man so easily?

"Be careful, and act natural." Those were not the words he planned to come out; not by a long shot. He was tired of holding all of these feelings back, but was trying to do his best in the situation.

"I will be back soon." She now trusted him again, although she wasn't entirely sure why.

----

"So, what do you want to do first?" John asked everyone. He wanted to make sure that a good time was had by all. "Hey! Look Dad! There's Jadin!" The twins were always happy to see him. "Why don't you guys go play with him while your dad and I go for a walk?"

Elizabeth really needed a break, and she was overjoyed at the sound of just walking and talking. "_Really_?" They said this as they ran away, not letting their mom say her answer back.

"So I guess that I am free to go." Rodney said it as if he thought he was being held captive, but meant it as a sarcastic comment about what a joyous time he was about to have.

"Yes Rodney, you are free, but check back in an hour, just so that we know you are safe." John's small comments like that always drew Elizabeth's laughter.

After Rodney left, they started to head out, meandering through the festivities.

"Are you sure that we shouldn't check in with Teyla?" John said that almost as if he thought that Teyla was his superior. In his defense, when they were on the mainland, she kind of was.

"No, I think that she will be fine. I am already tired; there is no way that this walk can take long." Elizabeth had her heart set on walking.

For John, this always meant one of two things: either she was planning to bring something up in conversation that she had been wanting to talk about for a while, or she really needed a break form work and was afraid that Teyla would need her for something.

They just walked for a while in silence, looking at everything going on. Each year, the festival brought more: more people, more food, more noise, and more items for sale.

After a while, they silently decided to head to the outskirts of the village.

For John the tension was too much. "What is going on?" This wasn't like Elizabeth, and he was worried for her.

"I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right." Elizabeth felt a breeze, and hugged herself for warmth, causing John to slip a little closer (a not entirely unwelcome action). "What do you mean; with the weather? Yeah, it should be warmer by this time of year." He was happy that weather was the biggest issue bothering his wife.

"No, there is just something wrong with Atlantis. We got the thing with the Kyana straightened out, right?"

"Yes, it is cleared up."

Elizabeth glanced at him, arms curled around herself and a haunted look in her eyes. "Well, then why do I have a feeling like something big and bad is about to happen?" Elizabeth stopped and looked into her husband's eyes. She was worried.

"I don't know." He paused, too, and tried to choose his words carefully. "I feel the same, but not for Kyana. I feel it for Jake." He realized that this couldn't help, but he thought that it needed to be addressed. There was a moment of silence and they looked at each other as if they were carrying on a conversation. "We need to head back. Something is going on, and I feel that we are about to be needed."

----

Teyla moved a little to the side and stared at the figure in the woods. Neither she nor Ronon could tell much, only that he was alone, and that he wasn't supposed to be.

Ronon could tell from the figure's demeanor that he was a threat, and not one that should be taken lightly. "We should move on, he is starting to notice us." He said it in that tone that he used when he was avoiding his predator.

Teyla glanced at him, concerned. This was not like him. Maybe he just wanted more of the story before he went trigger-happy, but still, it unnerved her. She didn't know how he could tell that the person was watching them; she was struggling just to see the profile.

She nodded in silent agreement, and just as they turned away, they heard footsteps coming. The feet were running, and fast. They looked in the direction of the footsteps. Ronon drew his gun. A familiar image emerged from the darkness. "Mom, Dad, come." Her voice was slow and fragmented, and undeniably frightened.

----

"Ha ha! You are never going to catch up!" Jadin was always a little over confident, especially when it came to races. He always knew that he could beat the twins as long as he put his mind to it.

He was right. Alex and Skye were quite a bit behind—it would take a miracle for them to catch up.

"Uh . . .Jadin, I don't think that we are supposed to be here." Alex slowed to a jog, then stopped altogether. She was always the one to point out when either of the boys were doing something wrong. Usually, it was just annoyance, but this time, she was really concerned.

"Yeah, didn't your mom say to stay within the western borders? We left them a while ago, and I don't think that we should be here. It is dark." Skye stopped also. Sure, he liked the feeling of sneaking around and disobeying, but he knew that this was more than fun, it was dangerous.

"Wow, you guys sound like my parents." Jadin stopped and headed back to them; the race was off. "You just say that because you know that I am going to win." He paused and squinted up at the moon; it was almost time for the ceremony to begin, and he had better be there for it or he would be in big trouble. "Okay, you win. We won't race, but we can still play here." Jadin knew that he shouldn't be there: they all did. However, he liked being there. He didn't know if it was the feeling of knowing the land, and he did. He knew just about every nook and cranny, his mom made sure of it. Or, it could also be the sheer joy at the feeling of getting away with what he knew to be wrong.

"I know where we are, and we have played here thousands of times!" Jadin said proudly.

"Yes, but it never was dark, and our parents were always close by." Alex was trying to be good; really she was.

"Don't be such a baby." Jadin said as he walked over a picked up a stick. "Come on, let's just play. What can happen?" Jadin knew that he was winning.

"Are you sure?" Skye stepped forward, intrigued.

"Yeah, come on. Get your sword!" Jadin held the stick that he had just picked up as if he were starting a fight. Skye looked over at Alex, as if to tell her that they would be okay.

They walked over to the edge of the small clearing they were in, grabbed sticks, and turned to look at Jadin.

"So, what next, Jadin?" Alex loved playing pretend, and was excited about what was in store.

"No, not Jadin, I am Ronon of Sateda!" Jadin was more proud of his father then he wanted to admit.

"Can't you ever be someone other then your father? Come on! It is a little lame." Skye tipped his head of tousled dark hair to the side and made a face at his best friend.

_Snap_! The strange noise, almost like that of a branch snapping, came from behind the three children, further into the woods. But no one was allowed in the woods during the festivals—so what did that noise mean?

"Did you hear that?" Skye was getting nervous, which was a bit unusual for the boy who usually took after his sometimes overly-eager father.

"_Owwwww_!" Jadin screamed louder than either of the twin had ever heard in their lives. He fell to the ground and writhed in obvious pain.

"Oh my gosh!" Alex was scared, really scared. She whirled to her brother, who was standing frozen in shock. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard to get him to pay attention to her. "Skye—get Mom!"

----

Kyana stood there, or at least that's what Ronon and Teyla thought. Their minds knew that it was their daughter, but it still didn't look like her, and thus their eyes were trying to tell them a completely different story. The woman that stood in front of them was breathless, tired, and her "perfect" outfit, the beautiful garment given to her by Kayla, was now torn in numerous places.

"What is going on?" Ronon stepped in front of Teyla with a look in his eyes saying that he was ready to kick butt--an understandable expression considering the circumstances.

"I don't know, just follow me." Kyana knew her parents well enough to know that she wasn't getting away with her short answer, but she was still going to try. She turned and started at a quick walk back in the direction she'd come, hoping her parents would follow. To her surprise, she heard footsteps instead of voices trying to stop her.

_Are they really going to follow me? Does this mean that they trust me? I guess that I was more convincing. _Just as she thought this, she felt a hand on her arm, pulling her to a stop and spinning her around.

It was her mother. "Honey, are you okay? You need to tell us what is going on. Your father and I are worried."

Teyla was right and Kyana knew it. Admitting it, however, was a totally different thing, but she knew the circumstances demanded that she do so. "Okay, I will tell you everything that I know so far, but we _have_ to keep moving. Let's jog." Kyana turned and went to leave, catching a look from her dad as she did. It was rather frightening; she had never seen him so worried, and that was saying something considering that she had seen him in a lot of bad situations.

"Ok, so I was talking to Ariana when I heard Jake talking behind me, and he sounded like he was really worried. I started asking him questions, but all that he would tell me was that we were in trouble." Kyana decided to go with the short and sweet version to save unnecessary time and energy.

"Where was he? How did he get there? Who exactly is in danger?" Her father's tone had gone from worried, to controlling. It was not that he was trying to control Kyana, it was more like he was taking charge to protect her.

"He was talking to someone, I couldn't see the person's face, and he was near the western border of the settlement. I don't know how he got there, and I am not sure who is in danger. He just said 'we'."

Actually, she hadn't thought about these kinds of things. _Where _did_ he come from? Who could be in danger? Is it just me and him? My parents too? All of Atlantis? _That thought made her pause and puzzle over the possibility for a moment._ Wow! This could be bigger that I thought! _The thought was not reassuring.

"Are you okay?" Teyla always went straight to emotions when it came to her daughter; however, Kyana wasn't sure exactly if she was referring to how she was feeling or to all of the injuries that her daughter had received in being half-dragged through the village.

"Yes, Mom, I am fine for now. We need to get to Jake and figure out what is going on." Kyana almost surprised herself with her mature answer; considering they way that she had been acting towards her parents recently, she hadn't been sure that she was capable of that anymore.

"So, is that all that we know?" There went Ronon, trying to take charge again.

"Yes, Dad, that is why we need to get there as soon as possible, we need answers."She bit her lip, wishing she hadn't spoken so harshly. She couldn't blame him for how she felt; if their positions were reversed, she would probably feel the same way.

Her parents had mixed feelings. They were happy that she hadn't been attacked, although her demeanor told otherwise. They feared for their daughter and what she had been through, wanting to know what they could do to help. They hated being powerless and wanted to get control as soon as possible. They all picked up their pace to a run; none of them talking, just thinking.

"To Be Continued . . ."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Lemons and wraith oh my**, thank you so much for the reply! It was so sweet of you! I really appreciate it!!


	3. Chapter 3

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 3/?

**Chapter 3**

"So, I guess that we were mistaken; nothing seems to be wrong." John was playing the optimist, but could tell that his wife was still worried.

"I don't know, John. I was kind of hoping that we would see _something _wrong." Elizabeth looked worried, which was surprising to John because she generally loved the festivities; it was one of the few times she got to shed her "Doctor Weir" persona and just be Elizabeth.

"What do you mean? Why can't you just enjoy the party?" He was getting frustrated, but staying calm.

"No, it's not that." She paused, but John didn't say anything because he knew that an explanation was on its way. "I. . .well, we both agree that something isn't right. Between all that is going on and the feel of the air, _something just isn't right_." She spoke slowly and hesitantly, as if unsure of her own thoughts.

"I guess that I understand, but it is obvious that nothing is wrong, I mean, look at them." John was trying to get his wife to loosen up.

Elizabeth got a strange expression on her face, scanning the crowd once more with an air of definite concern. "No, if everything is fine, then where is Teyla and Ronon? Look, the moon is almost at full rise. Why haven't they started the ceremony?"

Elizabeth was right, something was wrong. John was quite impressed by his wife's observations; this was a fact that even he hadn't noticed. "Ok, you're right, but what should we do?" John was admitting, in his own way, that he was wrong, but thought that they should move on with it.

Suddenly, they both turned around as one, hearing a noise, like running, coming from behind them. But this was different than any normal sound of a person running; this sound was lighter, and they could hear the gasping for breath. Whoever it was, they had been running for quite a distance.

They squinted, and out of the darkness came a face so familiar that it shocked them both for a moment: neither of them had been expecting this.

"_Mom!_ _Dad!_ Jadin is in trouble!" It was Skye, and the urgency in his voice alone told his parents that time was of the essence.

"Honey, what is it?" Elizabeth was definitely scared by this, but tried not to show it to her son.

"I don't know for sure, all that I know is that you _have_ to come!" Skye really didn't know what he'd seen, but he was almost in shock because of whatever it had been. He had no clue what happened to his best friend, and that was what was scariest about it.

With the exchange of a single, wordless look of understanding, Elizabeth and John took off, almost leaving their son behind.

Skye was trying as hard as possible to stay ahead, knowing that he was the only one that knew where Jadin and his sister was.

John noticed and understood his son's struggle, and with one swoop, had Skye on his back.

A sudden thought struck him with the force of a lightning strike. "Where is your sister?" John realized that it took him a little too long to remember that he had _two_ children, and felt guilty for it.

"She is with Jadin. She sent me to get you." Skye was still panicked and breathless, and this didn't exactly calm his parents.

"Are they safe?" Elizabeth chimed in from the back. Although John had been carrying a ten-year old boy, the military training still kept him a good distance ahead of her, and he consciously slowed down just a little to let her catch up.

"I . . . I don't know." Skye hadn't thought that whatever came could come again; he was just focused on making sure that Jadin was safe.

This revelation worried his parents even more. John looked back at his wife; they exchanged concerned glances, and hurried their paces even more.

Eventually, they arrived at the place that Skye had left Jadin and Alex, but no one was there.

"Are you sure that this is the right place?" John asked as he allowed his son to slide off his back and walk around nervously.

Skye almost looked like he was in trouble. "Yeah . . . I am pretty sure." He was really searching and starting to panic when he saw something strange, like a small puddle, but he knew enough to know that it hadn't rained for at least a week.

He looked closer and saw that it wasn't a puddle as much as a trail that led into a little guard's hut a few feet away.

Without saying a word, he followed the trail, and went into the hut, his parents close behind.

There, he found his sister. Poor Alex was covered in sweat, dirt, and a little bit of blood, making it quite obvious that she had been working hard.

He ventured in further and saw his friend in the corner on a makeshift cot well-constructed by his sister. He was amazed that she could even get Jadin in there, let alone on the cot.

"How long have I been gone?" Skye said, almost forgetting that Jadin was lying there, exhausted from bleeding so much.

"What is going on?" John quietly interrupted to ask his daughter. "Skye didn't exactly tell us much." He was proud of Alex, but thought that he should address that fact at a better time.

Elizabeth was the one in shock now. She couldn't think why someone would want to hurt a ten-year old, so what had the kids been doing?

"I don't know for sure, Dad; we were near the woods, running, when Jadin started screaming and went down. I figured that it was a gunshot wound, because of the injury site and the bleeding, but they must have used a silencer, or a quiet weapon, because the only noise that we heard was Jadin." She was calm and very informative with her answer, almost as if it had been rehearsed.

John took a step back and shook his head. He didn't know if he was talking to his little girl, or to Dr. Beckett, or even to one of the Marines. She was so mature with her answer that it astounded him; she was a lot more grown up than he gave her credit for.

"Where did you learn those words?" John asked suspiciously, forgetting where he was and what was going on.

"I don't know, I think from Uncle Carson. I like helping him. And people are always talking about guns and stuff around the city. I can't help but hear them."

Alex was telling the truth. She loved working with the adults on Atlantis, and Carson often let her do odd jobs around the infirmary when nothing serious was going on.

"Um, I think that we are forgetting what is going on. John, you need to go and get Carson and Teyla or Ronon. We need to get him well as soon as possible, and then we will focus on what is going on and why this happened." Elizabeth was playing the voice of reason. But, what she hadn't realized was the fact that no one knew where either Teyla or Ronon were at the moment, so this would be easier said then done.

"Okay, I will send Carson as soon as possible, and then search for Jadin's parents. See you soon." He looked at his daughter again, making sure to get eye contact. He did his best to articulate how proud he was of her with that one look, and from the look that he got in return; he knew that he had what he intended.

With one last glance of reassurance to his wife, he left to retrieve the needed assistance; leaving Elizabeth to tend to Jadin and the twins.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay, I think that's the right place. I don't know for sure. Oh, wait, it is, I know it. I remember now." Kyana was way too stressed to know anything for sure at the moment, but as they neared the hut, her surroundings were looking more and more familiar.

Just as she finished saying that, Jake came out with a frustrated look on his face. "Shh! Could you be any louder? I can hear you from in here!" he said with a whisper just loud enough to hear. "We don't want to be caught."

It was almost as if he was trying to confuse or frustrate them. Kyana opened her mouth to say something, though she didn't know if it was going to be a question or a snotty remark. But she thought better of it and closed her mouth and gave him a mean look, in case words would be too loud.

They entered the hut with as little noise as possible. As the door closed, Kyana opened her mouth to speak, but Jake forestalled what she was going to say.

"I know, it isn't fair to keep everything secret. I am ready to explain it all, but I need you to let me finish quickly. That means no interruptions. Fair enough?" Jake decided that it was best to cut her off before they got into an argument.

"Okay." Kyana was speaking for all of them right now. "Good. So, Wednesday, the day after . . ." He paused, choosing his words carefully. ". . .we last spoke," he said as he looked at her wrist, so happy to see the bracelet that he couldn't help but smile. Kyana noticed this and retuned the smile, and they stood there for a moment gazing into each other's eyes. Jake realized that Ronon was there, and quickly shook his head and returned to the story, not making eye contact with Ronon.

"I was on my way to the cafeteria for breakfast when I got cut off by two rather rough looking men. I was escorted to a room away from everyone else where they told me that they had a proposition, and that's when they told me that they wanted me to run an errand for them. Obviously, I didn't trust them. Anything that needed to be said behind doors, without Dr. Weir, probably wasn't legit. So, I started asking who they were, but they wouldn't tell me. So, I decided to pretend to cooperate just to get information. They told me that they needed a meeting with some people, and it was my job to fetch them. Their vagueness made me nervous. It was as if they were waiting for me to accept before they told me the whole story. I asked them who they needed to talk to, and they told me that it was some friends of mine. I wondered what friends I had that needed to be rounded up. I told them to quit with the fuzzy answers and give it to me straight up. That is when it became clear to me." He realized that he had been looking at Kyana pretty much the whole time and with one look at the other two people in the room he realized that they were tense. Yes, they were smart enough to know what was coming next. Why would they be there if it didn't involve them? But still, they know that it was not a good story.

Jake realized that he just needed to get on with the story. "So, they told me that they needed a meeting with the Dex family." He said this with a slow, deep tone, knowing that they could figure out some of what was going on, but that made it no better. He looked at them and realized that, although they had pretty much been expecting this answer, it was still concerning them. "I told them that I wouldn't help them with whatever they were trying to do. I didn't trust them. They were not thrilled with my answer, however. It made them mad. Then, they offered me money to help them, and a lot of it. I refused. They then informed me that I needed to agree, or it wouldn't be pretty for me. I asked them who they were again. They wouldn't answer, but they told me that they had power; enough power to extinguish someone like me in a heartbeat. The told me that either I could help them, and get paid, or they would do it themselves, and I get removed. I agreed to help them. I figured that if I was there, behind the scenes, I could stall them until something could be done. Right now, they are waiting in the woods. They have weapons and are watching me—or, at least, they _were_ watching me. They think that I came to round you guys up, so they let me wander around. Kyana was the first person that I saw, and I knew that they would be mad if they saw me get you guys and not take you to them, so I sent Kya . . . na after you." He realized that this wasn't the time for pet names; especially when her parents were there and one of them was Ronon. He and Kyana exchanged glances and smiled secretly at his near slip-up.

Jake shook off the feeling and forced himself back to the business at hand. "Something needs to be done. Once the festivities are over, there is no reason for me not to have you in their hands. There are a lot more of them than there are of us right now. We are not in a good situation. They have the upper hand," Jake said with such a grim tone that made them understand. Something had to be done, and quick.

_To Be Continued. . ._


	4. Chapter 4

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 4/?

**Chapter 4**

John exited the hut and tried to calm himself. He knew that he couldn't get much accomplished if all he could think about was Jadin on that cot and Teyla missing. He firmly forced himself to push that thought from his mind and started thinking of how he could contact Carson. He didn't know for sure if Carson was on the mainland or not since he hadn't seen him, but he also knew that Carson liked to come over for visits whenever possible.

John thought that he would try the easiest solution first, so he clicked his radio once and called: "Caron, you there?" John made sure to say it with panic in his voice. He thought that it might rush Carson's response.

"Aye, what's wrong?" Carson responded immediately, proving to John that the voice worked.

"Jadin is injured. He needs immediate medical attention. He is in the guard house on the western side of the village. I need you to get there ASAP." John was quite pleased that Carson was there, but knew that there was still more to be done.

"Colonel, I don't have any supplies, or anything to treat him with," Carson said, worried. His reaction was understandable; after all, what doctor carried his supplies with him all of the time?

John was not cheered about this unpleasant turn of events. He stood there for a moment trying to think of what to do. He couldn't fly over to the city and be back in enough time; Jumpers just weren't that fast. _Wait that's it! Jumpers!_ "Carson, do you think that the first aid kit in the Jumper could suffice?" Though, in truth, it could hardly be called a first aid kit. It had just about everything medical that was ever invented. Okay, not exactly, but there was a lot.

"Aye, I think that'll do it, but where is the Jumper?" Carson started wondering what happened to Jadin. Knowing that little rascal, it was probably a broken bone. Jadin like to play, but when he got caught up in it, he could get a little wild.

"It's between the coast and the village. I will meet up with you there, and assist you." John knew that Carson could handle it and that it would be better for him to let Carson handle it so he could start looking for Teyla, but it would be nicer to lend a hand, and might get the doctor to Jadin faster.

They met at the Jumper and John got Carson set up with all that he needed. He explained the situation to Carson and gave him detailed directions on how to get there. With that accomplished, they went their separate ways.

It hadn't until then that John realized exactly how big of a task was ahead of him. He knew that Teyla wasn't where she was supposed to be, so now his search had to be expanded to include the entire village, if she was even still in it. No, this was not going to be a fun night.

It didn't take long for him to get back to the village and enter the heart of it. As he looked around he saw a lot of familiar faces, but none of them were Teyla. He knew that he had to be careful what he said, because for whatever reason, Teyla and Ronon weren't anywhere to be seen. There was more of a possibility that the reason wasn't a good one, and he didn't want to point out that they were missing. All that that would do was stir up excitement and panic.

So, now it was down to the big question: How was he going to ask people were their leader was without worrying them? It seemed impossible, but he had a thought and decided that he would start off with the one person there that didn't care.

Once more he hit the button to activate his radio. "Rodney, you there?"

No response.

"Rodney, this is important! Do you read me?" John knew that Rodney could hear him and the fact that he wasn't answering made him mad.

After a long pause he finally heard, "I'm here. What is it?" Rodney said it as if he were annoyed by having to talk to John.

"When was the last time that you saw Teyla? I need to know where she is." John was mad at Rodney right now, and it showed. He didn't know for sure why he was mad at the scientist, but he was.

"I don't know, I think that I saw her in the main shelter an hour or so ago." Rodney was playing defensive. Sure, he really hadn't seen them, but he was a little afraid of John right then.

"Well, she isn't there now, and I need to find her." He thought of someone else who would be helpful. "Or Ronon, do you know where he is?" John was desperately grasping at straws.

"No, last time I saw him, he was with Teyla. Your best bet would be to look around the village." It actually seemed as if Rodney was trying to be helpful, but there had to be a better idea than searching an entire village!

_Hey! Maybe Kyana would know! If I can find her, then maybe she can lead me to them_,thought John. It would certainly be a lot more discreet to ask around for a teenager than adults.

John quickly moved around the village and started asking people if they knew where Kyana was. For a long while, none of them were helpful. Finally he asked one person who told him: "No, but last time that I saw her, she was with Ariana. Your best bet is to check with her."

John was very pleased with this response. "Thank you, but do you know where Ariana is?" He asked the villager this with the friendliest of tones.

"Yes, I think that she is over there." The villager said as she pointed over to a group of people laughing.

"Thank you!" John called over his shoulder as he took off toward the group. "Ariana?" He said to no one in particular, since he knew nothing of who he was looking for.

"Yes?" said a timid voice from the crowd as a woman stood up. She walked over to John, looking nervous, as if she though that she was in trouble.

"Do you know where Kyana is? I need to talk to her," John said, trying not to let his stress bleed through into his voice.

"No, but I spoke with her earlier. We got interrupted, and she left with someone." The Athosian said and started to turn away.

"Who? This is really important. _Who_ did she leave with?" John wondered who could possibly have taken her away and kept her this long without Kyana fighting.

"Um . . . I think that she called him Jake, but I don't remember for sure." Now Ariana sat down, looking up at John pointedly as if asking him to leave.

John ignored the look and thought for a moment._ There is no way that it was Jake, he hasn't been seen for days. He wouldn't show up here, and Kyana wouldn't go with him, she is too mad at him. Or is she?_ "What direction did they go in?"

Ariana sighed impatiently and pointed to the western side of the village.

John thanked her politely and headed out. However, he didn't get very far before Elizabeth radioed in.

"John, have you found Teyla or Ronon yet?" She sounded anxious and worried.

"No, but I am on my way to where I think that Kyana might be. I have a feeling that she may know. Has Doc Beckett reached you yet?" John wondered if Jadin was okay, but the tone in his wife's voice certainly didn't hold good news.

"Yes, Carson just got here and checked him over. He said that Jadin will probably be okay, but you need to get his parents here soon." The way that she said it alone made John pick up pace.

"Working on it." He waited for another response, but none came. He figured that she just didn't have anything to say, and who could blame her?

----

"So what is it?" Elizabeth said with a ginger face as she watched Carson work on Jadin's leg. They had decided to give Jadin medicine so that he could sleep; he needed to stay calm, and this was the easiest way.

Alex and Skye were off to the side. Skye was asleep from the long day, but not Alex. She enjoyed watching her uncle Carson work too much to sleep. She was nervous, but distracted by what was going on. Elizabeth thought that it was good to get her mind off of what happened.

"It looks like a bullet. I think that Alex here was right." Carson said then, looking from Elizabeth with a worried look, to Alex with a proud one. He didn't want to worry the girl and was quite happy with her knowledge of medicine. He knew that whatever she had retained came from him.

"Who could have done this?" Elizabeth still didn't want to admit that a person could have hurt a child.

"I think that it was aimed at a higher place because of angle that the bullet went in. I also think that it was intentional." Carson didn't like saying that, but he knew it had to be said.

Elizabeth looked disturbed as she moved her gaze back to Jadin. "How does he look?" She knew that it was probably too soon to tell, but she couldn't wait. She loved this child as her own and wanted him to be well again.

"Well, with a little rest, he should be up going sooner than you think." Carson always tried to be optimistic, but this time he wasn't just acting for benefit.

"What's it going to take to get it out?" Although the sentence structure wasn't quite right, Alex had posed a good question. She knew enough to know that it wasn't an easy task to remove a bullet, especially with the few supplies provided.

"I don't know for sure, I need to examine the lad a bit more," Carson said over his shoulder to the girl that was nearly on the edge of her seat. Yes, he could definitely see a doctorate in her future and was proud.

"While Carson is doing that, why don't you tell me what happened?" Elizabeth asked as she walked over and sat on the ground next to her daughter, Carson's back and Jadin's face straight ahead of them.

"Well," Alex said as she scooted her feet under her and wrapped her arms around her legs, "we were racing, and we left the borders that Aunt Teyla told us not to stray past. I told Jadin and Skye that we needed to go back, but we were having so much fun," she half-defended them, not making eye contact with her mother. She knew that she had done wrong, and felt bad for it.

Then, slowly, she raised her head and looked into her mother's eyes, almost afraid to face the anger she knew would be there. But, instead of anger, she saw compassion. This warmed her heart, and with a quick smile she looked back at the ground and continued her story. "Then Jadin and Skye were just about to stick fight, like we do back home. Suddenly, without a noise to warn of anything wrong, Jadin screamed out in pain, and fell. Skye stood there with his mouth open and a stick in his hand, and I fell down to see what was wrong." She stopped and looked up at her mom.

Elizabeth had tears in her eyes, and Alex knew her mom well enough to know that it was her 'my daughter has grown up' look. (It was quite embarrassing though somewhat flattering.)

"What happened next?" It was obvious that Elizabeth was astounded by how factual all of her daughter's answers were. It was like she was asking an adult.

"I saw that he needed more help than I could give, so I sent Skye out. I knew that if _I_ left, he would just stand there the whole time with his mouth open. After he left, I realized that it was probably a gunshot wound, and where there are guns, there are people that use them. Knowing that they either hadn't left or might be back, I hurried up and brought him in here. I guessed that it would still be a while until someone got here, so I found a run-down cot and fixed it up with some stuff that I found lying around this old place. It was all pretty easy, but it was getting him on the cot that was the trick. It took a lot of work, but I got him up." She finished and looked up at her mom again, nervously biting her lip. She could tell just by the look on Elizabeth's face that she was proud of her, and that brought a smooth blush to her face.

They shared a moment of silent mother/daughter understanding before they both looked over at Carson, who was staring at Alex with respect for all that she had done. After all, that, it was no wonder Alex was so dirty!

"What?" Alex hated it when people looked at her like that. "It was nothing big. Just stuff that dad and Uncle Carson taught me." Okay, so she liked the attention, but she also didn't think that she deserved it.

"Alex, you make me prouder and prouder each day. How could you bring Jadin all of the way in here? He is so much heavier than you." Elizabeth's eyes revealed her happiness.

"Mom, it was all adrenaline. Don't you remember this stuff from when you went to school? The thing that I can't figure out is who would do this and why." Alex then decided to change the subject; she was sure that the school comment hadn't gone over well with her mother.

"Are you sure that you didn't hear any other noise besides Jadin?" Carson asked over his shoulder, trying to help by double-checking.

"Yes. Positive," Alex said with a slight nod.

"Well, they probably did use a silencer, but where were they?" Elizabeth asked, half-way as a rhetorical question.

"I don't know for sure; I think that Jadin was facing the village, and if he got shot in the back of the leg, then they would be in the eastern most part of the woods. But, I really can't be sure because I was looking somewhere else at the time." Alex said this with a puzzled look on her face, as if something else was hovering just out of the reach of her mind.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth picked up on her daughter's confused look, recognizing it as the same one that John got when something important was eluding him.

"I don't know. I just feel like I am missing something. The more that I run through it, I am starting to remember something. There is a reason that we weren't looking at Jadin." Alex paused and looked around, as if searching for an answer. "That's _it_! The snap!" She exclaimed suddenly as she snapped her fingers and leaned back against the wall with a self-satisfied grin.

"What? What snap?" Elizabeth was very caught up in this story.

"I don't know for sure, but none of us were watching each other because we heard something about two seconds before Jadin went down. It was just enough time for us to ask each other if we heard 'the snap.' Wait." She paused as she said this, scrambling to her feet to go over to the window that was made to look out to the woods.

Alex stared out for a long moment before turning back to face Carson. "You said that you think whoever shot Jadin slipped, right?" She waited for her Scottish uncle to nod, which he did almost immediately, before speaking again. "Ok, so whoever did it probably knew what they were doing up until the slip. And we weren't close to the woods for very long before Jadin was shot." As she said all of this, a cunning look slowly crept across her face.

"Honey, please just tell us what you are thinking," Elizabeth said as Carson finished up on Jadin. She was not in the mood for twenty questions.

Alex gave in somewhat reluctantly. "Okay, I think that whoever it was wanted to shoot Jadin and he was going to do a good job, until he slipped, and I think that he was half-way pulling on the trigger. Then, either he fell, something hit him, or he stumbled, and he pulled the trigger the rest of the way as he fell. That would explain it," Alex said as she pointed out to the window, illustrating where Jadin and the mystery person would be.

"That makes sense, but don't you think that a hit-man would have better gun control?" Now that Carson was done, he was getting more involved. Both Carson and Elizabeth were treating her like an adult right now, since she had more than proved herself.

"Yes . . . unless it wasn't a hit-man. What if it was just a bad-guy that wasn't that good with a gun? It didn't have to be his job to kill him, he just changed his mind or something." Alex was trying really hard to explain what was so clear in her mind, but wasn't sure if she was getting her point across. She knew that she had done her best and thought that they understood.

"Whatever the scenario, it all ends in someone trying to kill a ten-year old boy. What is going on?" Elizabeth was worried at that thought, and she could tell the others were, too.

Without another word, she hit the button to bring her radio to life. "John, you there? I think that this is worse than we thought." Elizabeth tried to stay calm and not translate her concern and fear over the radio to her husband.

"Yes, I am here. What's going on?" John asked a moment later.

Just the sound of his voice was comforting. "Long story, just try and hurry." Elizabeth didn't want to get into the whole story then, there would be time for that later.

"Okay. I will tell you as soon as I get something. Bye." John sounded distracted as he said the last.

"Bye. And hurry," Elizabeth said as she stood up and walked over to the window to stand with her daughter.

_To Be Continued. . ._


	5. Chapter 5

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 5/?

**Chapter 5**

As John approached the area that Ariana had directed him to, he noticed a hut that was slightly different in appearance than the others.

The door wasn't shut all of the way, and the dim flicker of yellow candlelight peeked out from the slight opening. Also, the appearance of shadows made him feel that there were people inside.

As he drew near, his footsteps silent out of habit, he heard faint voices that he easily recognized, and felt confident to go in.

Sheppard entered the hut to see Teyla, Ronon, Kyana, and Jake all there talking and looking very concerned.

"What's going on? Is something wrong? A lot of people are missing you," John said as he interrupted the discussion.

The others exchanged glances of worry; it was obvious that they were trying to decide whether or not to enlighten him on what they'd been talking about.

"Where were you?" John questioned as he realized that his earlier question wasn't going to be answered any time soon, so he thought of another.

After a pause and more looks, Jake stepped forward and said: "Um . . . actually that is what we are talking about. We need your help. There are people out to get the Dex family. We're trying to figure out exactly what to do."

John paused and stared. He hadn't expected this, and now he had to start thinking of what the whole story could be.

"What? Why? Who? Are you okay?" John was truly worried for his friends, and expressed that in a slew of questions as soon as he found his voice again.

"Yes, we are fine, and we will explain all of what is going on. We were just about to go and get you and Elizabeth. Where is she?" Teyla took charge with the impeccable calm that made her such an excellent leader, mother, and member of his team.

"Um," John tried to choose his words carefully. "She is at an Athosian guard hut caring for Jadin. There—um, there was an accident."

Everyone had a look of worry on their face; especially Jake, which was a little surprising.

"Is he alright?" Ronon was the first to chime in, mixed concern and something unidentifiable in his eyes, making it obvious that he expected the worst.

"What happened?" Kyana's quick response proved that she loved her 'annoying' little brother more than she wanted to let on.

"No, he is fine, Carson is treating him. It was a . . ." John knew that the words following would not be taken easily. Everyone was anxious for the following words, though, so he had to force them out. "It was a gunshot wound. We think that it was intentional."

He delivered that particular bombshell while looking at Ronon. He knew how hard it would be for him to hear that Skye got hurt like that, and also knew that Dex would feel the same. As he looked into the Satedan's eyes, he could see the pain that he expected. John wanted to say something to comfort his teammate and friend, but knew that it wasn't his place.

Teyla, followed by Kyana, walked over to comfort and be comforted by Dex, and John continued to talk.

"It was to the leg. He is fine and resting." John hoped that would be at least a little comfort to them.

"It has begun." Those quite unexpected words came from Jake, and now all eyes were on him.

Jake thought for a moment about what was more important: the complete secrecy he'd pressed the Dexes into or John understanding.

He chose the latter. After a two-minute summary on what he had already told the others, he took a deep breath and delivered his reasoning for his earlier comment. "Now about what I said a couple minutes ago, the words that these men left me with were: 'We will give you five days, and then we will start killing them as we see them. Once we are done with them, we will go to you and then your family. It will end when there aren't enough people left to go to your funeral.'" Jake said this with his head up in a position that showed all of them how hard he was working to hide his fear.

There was a long moment of complete and unsettling silence.

"Now that the five days are up, my guards have now turned into my hit men." Jake somehow said this with more ease; it was obvious that he cared for his friends and family's lives.

He walked over to Kyana quietly, watching the others to see if they'd notice. He had wanted just to hold her hand the whole time, and now figured that since his part of the conversation was over and John was here, the action wouldn't attract attention.

Once Jake had reached Kyana and had her hand in his with no protest from her, he looked up to see what would be done next.

"So why don't we just kill them?" Ronon said with such a tone that he wondered why the thought hadn't come earlier.

----------

"Where's Teyla?" shouted a voice among the crowd as they gathered. The villagers had been through enough of these ceremonies to know that their leader and her family were late. Teyla should have been there and hour ago to get the ceremony started. Now, the moon was so full that it was almost too late.

Now that the first voice had sounded, they all started yelling, and a few people even left the congregation to search for their leader.

It was then that Rodney started to realize what was going on. "Hey!" Okay, he _really_ didn't need to say that. Sure, he wanted to create a diversion, but he didn't have any ideas. Now that he had spoken, though, he needed to keep it going. "A diversion is out the door, how about good ole stalling?" Rodney said under his breath as he looked toward the ground. But what could he say?

He looked up to see that all eyes were on him. Did he really say it that loudly? "Umm. . .why does Teyla have to be here?" he knew the answer, but it was all that he could come up with on such short notice.

"She is the one that holds the ceremony," said a male as he stepped out of the crowd, in a tone that made it seem one of the most obvious things in the universe. "She is the leader of our people."

"Yes, but what is the ceremony about?" Rodney asked. He could see that everyone was rapidly losing interest.

"We don't have time for this; we need to be looking for Teyla. She may not be safe!" someone else called out.

Rodney tried to think of something to say. As he stood there looking like an idiot, the crowd took off looking for Teyla.

------------------

"So, what do we do now?"

The question from Carson interrupted the silence, forcing Elizabeth and Alex to turn from their spots at the window.

"John, have you found Teyla?" Elizabeth knew where the conversation would end up, so she went ahead and radioed her husband while trying to keep the edge from her voice.

"Uh, yeah, and it isn't good. Are you guys safe?" John asked, although he kind of knew what the answer would be. He just wanted the reassurance of hearing _her_ say it.

"John, what's wrong?" Elizabeth knew that tone of his, and she wanted to know what was going on, and she wanted to know badly!

"Elizabeth, calm down. Jake is here, and the Dexes are in trouble. That's all that I can say. Just trust me. _Now_, you're safe, right?" John wasn't planning on telling her what was really going on, but he knew that it was probably the only thing that could calm her down.

"Yes, we're still in the hut, but we're getting bored, is there anything that you want us to do?" Elizabeth felt bad for some reason about using the word "bored," but it was just the right word to use.

"She asked if there is anything that they can do," John said to Jake, one eyebrow raised in question.

Jake was kind of the boss right now, but everyone hadn't seemed to realize it yet. "No. Just tell them to stay safe until we come up with a plan." Jake was more nervous than any of them, which scared all of them.

"Yeah, just hang tight. We're going to come up with a plan, then relay it to you," John said knowing that it wouldn't please his wife.

"Okay, we'll be here." She said this with the voice she used when she was trying to rush people along when they were in danger.

Elizabeth had never been a woman to sit still. After she ended contact with John, she went back over to the window and sat down on a small stool. Alex came and sat in her lap, joining her in looking out the window.

"What did he say?" Carson asked although he already knew the answer.

"He said to 'hang tight,'" Elizabeth said, looking away from the woods. "Something is wrong. They're going to need our help soon. He said they're going to come up with a plan and then relay it to us." Elizabeth wasn't in the mood to talk, so she hoped that Carson would be satisfied with that little bit of information.

He seemed to be. He didn't talk for a couple of minutes; when he did his voice sounded unnaturally loud in the stillness. "It's strange, isn't it? We were enjoying our time at the party just a couple of hours ago, now we're here," Carson said to Elizabeth.

Alex shifted in her mother's lap, and then stood up. Elizabeth welcomed this motion; Alex wasn't as young or light as she used to be.

She watched for a second as her daughter walked across the room and sat under another window. "Yeah, it never ceases to amaze me. These things seem to happen a lot. Life is never how it appears." Elizabeth stared at nothing in particular, then jolted back to attention suddenly when Alex walked up to her mother and got her attention.

"Mom, I think that you need to radio dad." Alex stated this with a calm voice, but her eyes had unmistakable fear in them.

"Honey, what's wrong?" If Elizabeth had learned anything from this experience, it was to _not_ underestimate her daughter.

"Shh, come over here." Alex motioned with her hand as she moved across the room to an alcove across from Elizabeth's stool. It was the one spot in the hut that couldn't be seen from outside.

Elizabeth stood and followed Alex as Carson scooted over a bit, too. He wanted to know what was going on.

"There are men watching us. There are at least four, and they're surrounding us."

---------------

"She said that they are safe and they want to help ASAP." John relayed his wife's words to the group in a tone that suggested he wasn't as calm as his expression conveyed. "Do you think that I should have told her more about the situation?" John asked, starting to second-guess himself.

"No, you did the right thing; we should be getting a plan right now." Jake was set on getting this whole situation over with. He could tell by the look in Ronon's eyes that this—or any—course of action would please him. That gave him just the amount of confidence that he needed. "And what you said about killing them, that won't work, there are too many of them. We'll get caught. Our best bet is to get out of here without anyone seeing us, go to a safer place, and get enough people to take them head-on," Jake said with a particular passion in his eyes

Everyone nodded together. None of them liked the idea of running, but it had to be done.

A few moments passed silently, and then. . .

"What?!?" John yelled randomly, not looking at anyone, causing the others to exchange concerned looks.

"Excuse me?" Teyla asked cautiously.

"Shh!" John said with an expression like he was trying to focus on something. All eyes were on him.

"Rodney, slow down! You aren't making any sense!" John was really frustrated.

Everyone understood now. If you listened closely, you could almost hear a sigh of relief coming for everyone, because they now understood that John was on the radio, and not crazy.

Sheppard held up a hand to forestall anyone badgering him with questions and leaned up against a stool as he listened to his radio.

The others could almost tell what was going on by the look on John's face. First, he was distraught, then he was frustrated, then he was overjoyed. It was a curious array of expressions, but it got the point across without words.

"Can you say that again?" John said as he looked at Jake, who got an expression of bewilderment on his face.

John realized and waved his hand, signaling that he was still talking to Rodney. "Hang on," the colonel said as he pushed the button to end radio contact. "I think that we have our loop hole," he said to the group as a whole. As he looked around at the others gathered in the hut with him, he saw hope creep back into the faces of his friends.

"What is it?" Kyana couldn't wait for her uncle to explain, she had to ask.

"Rodney said that the Athosians are searching the village frantically looking for Teyla because she isn't there for the ceremony," John declared, beaming.

"How is that a good thing?" Teyla said, trying to ignore her guilt for ruining the ceremony.

"They wouldn't kill anyone but the Dexes, would they?" John asked, making sure that his thoughts would work out.

"Not unless they think that the people would go to my funeral, but how does that help?" Jake questioned, as if he were trying to add a little humor to the situation.

"Don't you see? This is just the confusion we need right now! With people running frantically, the best thing that we can do is get in the middle of the chaos, run for it, and make a hope that they haven't found our Jumper." So many emotions were backing his statement that they all keenly felt them.

Sheppard went back to talking on his radio. "Rodney, get to the Jumper, and try to see that no one else does. We're going to make a run for it." John immediately knew to expect questions—this was Rodney, after all.

He was right. "What? Running from what? What's going on?" Rodney questioned irritably, his heavy breathing suggesting that he was already on his way.

"Just do it! Get to the Jumper and make sure that the only people that are behind you are ours," John hissed through his teeth. He'd had quite enough of talking; he just wanted to get out of there. "Rodney is on his way, now we need to get Elizabeth and the others there. Ronon, you okay with carrying Jadin?" John knew the answer, but thought he would still ask.

"Yeah." Ronon was never one for words, but his expression said it all.

John raised his hand to push the radio button, but he was interrupted by his radio activating with an incoming transmission.

Elizabeth said with a trembling voice: "John, we have trouble. Big trouble."

_To Be Continued. . ._


	6. Chapter 6

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 6/?

**Chapter 6**

"They've been walking around for a while now, I think, but I just figured it out." Alex paused and moved her head around, as if she were listening for something. "I think they know that we're here. They're at your two, four, seven, and eleven o'clock. Those are the only ones that I know of but I am guessing that there are more," she said, with confidence.

Elizabeth paused, trying to figure out what to do with this information. "Are they close enough to hear us?" she still couldn't believe that her daughter such a genius.

"I would say no, unless they have some kind of special technology, they wouldn't be dumb enough to get that close." Alex sounded fairly reassuring. . .

A twig snapped exactly at Elizabeth's four o'clock and she snapped her head around. "Okay, so I guess there's one at my four o'clock, but that was kind of close. Are you sure that we're safe?" Elizabeth was getting nervous. Then she realized that something was wrong with this situation. Shouldn't she be the one in charge of the situation instead of her ten year old daughter? Then she realized that Alex deserved to be in charge: she sure seemed to know more about the situation than Elizabeth.

"I don't know. I still can't think of why they would want to hurt us." As Alex said this, Elizabeth remembered that there were people that wanted to hurt the Dexes. On that note, what was taking John so _long_ to respond?

"John are you there?" Elizabeth started to sense that something else was going on—and that it wasn't good.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hold on. Elizabeth's trying to get me," John said as he raised a finger to hush the crowd.

"Yeah, what's going on?" John was just trying not to freak out.

"We are surrounded by people and they're closing in. It's not looking good." Elizabeth replied in a hushed voice. She stood up and moved over to and area where Alex couldn't hear. "What's going on? Who are they?" Elizabeth was truly worried and equally clueless.

"She said that they're surrounded. How fast can we get over there?" John noticed the concern in his wife's voice.

"Depends on who you mean. I can get there in two minutes, full run." Ronon was willing to do anything. He knew that his son was there, not to mention everyone else that was like family.

"How will that help none of you have guns?" Elizabeth listened in to the conversation over the radio.

John looked over at Ronon. "We have a gun." It took about two seconds of knowing Ronon Dex to know that he never went anywhere without his gun. John thought that it would be better to come up with a plan right now, _then_ discuss it with everyone else. "Just hang tight. Ronon and I are going to come and get you; we'll rendezvous back here, and head to the jumper. Sound good?" John asked, looking around at the gathering of people.

He got nods of support and agreement.

"John, I don't know if I like this. We have three children here. You can't just come charging in with guns flaring." Elizabeth didn't want to traumatize them.

"Honey, it's either that, or they come in with guns flaring at you. You just need to distract them; we'll be there soon," John assured her as he tapped Ronon on the shoulder and they headed out.

Elizabeth ended radio contact with her husband and walked over to Alex. "We're supposed to hang tight: whatever that means."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alpha One, you copy?" questioned a hushed voice outside the guard hut.

"Yeah, what's the hold-up?" responded alpha one, almost immediately.

"It's Alpha Three, I think there's an issue" replied the first voice.

"What is it? We need to get this taken care of." Three was getting annoyed.

"Yeah, well, I don't know what to do," One admitted shamefully.

"How can you not know what to do? The instructions were clear: kill any and all Dexes and no one else. What part of that do you not understand?" Three wanted to get off the mainland, and there were still _more_ Dexes.

"Well, that's the problem. There's more people and I don't know if we can get rid of the Dex without taking on damage. You know well enough that we can't afford to have damage." One was careful not to raise his voice loud enough for their targets in the hut to hear. They were almost certain that they had gone unnoticed, and it was preferable if it was kept that way.

"You have a gun. They don't. What could they possible do to harm the mission?" Three was agitated now.

"This is Alpha Two. One, you don't understand, there are two adults, Beckett and Weir, and three kids. Only one of the kids is a Dex. I don't think this is the best time to charge in with guns. Let's wait 'em out." Two knew that One couldn't see what was going on. He also knew that the more they stayed there and talked, the easier it was for them to be noticed.

"Okay, I'm making the decision. Three, Two, Four, and Six, you stay here and guard the hut. Everyone in the woods with me, spread out. I want you evenly distributed among the other targets. I don't want any target leaving their current position without being shot. Is that clear?" One was ready to get this over with. His response was a resounding "Yes" or "Clear" from the team; and they all dispersed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh, okay, get to the Jumper, easy. Nothing's wrong. John just wants to get home. Sure, Teyla's missing and John doesn't care, but that's not a bad thing." Rodney murmured to himself as he jogged.

"All I need to do is get to the Jumper, and it'll all be explained. John is a little dramatic anyway, this is probably nothing. All I need to do is make it to the Jumper. It looks like I've made it about a third of the way, so just two thirds left. And if I've traveled a mile already, then only two more left. I can do that easy. When I was younger, I could run two miles, and now I'm older and stronger. Yeah, this is gonna be. . ." He paused for a moment to get a breath and maybe a drink of water.

Yeah, he could run for another mile or two, but he needed a small break. He didn't want to stop all together, so he slowed to a walk. He could do this.

"Sir, sir, _sir_!"

Rodney heard the voice coming up quickly from behind him.

Turning, he saw that the owner of the voice looked to be a girl—no, a _woman_.

He didn't have time for this. "What?" he said, trying to be obvious that woman was annoying him.

"Aren't you one of Teyla's friends from the City of the Ancestors?" the woman asked breathlessly.

"Yes, and _who_ are you?" Rodney decided that a little small talk and maybe a signature would get her to leave.

"I'm Leila, one of her friends. Why aren't you worried for her? She's been absent for hours and it looks as though you don't care."

Rodney didn't know how to respond to this. He didn't know where Teyla was, but he knew that she was safe.

Or did he? John never said that she was safe, he just said to go to the Jumper. Maybe he should stop to assist Leila.

_No. John said to get to the Jumper._ It was his job to get rid of Leila. "Umm. . . I am looking for Teyla, what makes you think that she couldn't be around here?" Rodney thought that was as good of an answer as any.

"Uh, I never thought of that. It just looked like you were trying to run away. May I help you search?" This woman seemed like she really cared, and Rodney didn't know how to get rid of her.

"Okay, how about you search this area, and I'll search the woods." Rodney knew what he was doing. He was going to leave her there, and run to the woods, duck behind a tree, and start searching for the Jumper.

"All right, we'll do that. If either of us find her, we'll just yell for the other." This seemed to be a good plan.

"Deal." They shook hands in agreement and then parted ways.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What's going on?" exclaimed Skye as he woke up to see his mother and sister crouched under the window next to Carson.

"Shhhh!" was his response from everyone.

"What?" asked Jadin, who was now waking up.

"You catch them up, and I'll tell Uncle Carson the plan. Sound good?" As Elizabeth said this, she saw joy creep into her daughter's face. It was obvious that somewhere deep down, Alex was enjoying the situation.

"Sure, sounds good to me," Alex said agreeably before she moved over to her peers.

"Okay, there are people here on the mainland trying to kill the Dexes. We are currently being surrounded by them. They are closing in. John and Ronon are on their way to get us out of here. Right now, it's our job to make sure that they don't know that we know that they're out there. Any questions?" Elizabeth was surprised with first, how fast what she said came out; second, with how calm Carson was.

"Okay, sounds like a plan. I think you made it pretty clear, thank you." Carson knew that there wasn't any point in freaking out, and he was too tired to do it anyway, so he decided to pass it off as nothing. After all, this couldn't be much different than what they dealt with on a daily basis at home on Atlantis.

"Hey, guys. Are you okay?" Alex said more to Jadin then her brother.

"No. I have a headache and something is going on that I don't know about," Skye whined a little as Jadin was opening his mouth. No one responded to the complaint.

"How are you, Jadin?" Alex decided to say that instead of punching her brother in the mouth.

"I'm good," He said valiantly as he tried to sit up. He let out a big grunt, then laid back down.

"Are you sure?" Alex truly cared about Jadin.

"Yeah, just tell us what's going on." Jadin wanted to get off the current topic of conversation—he didn't like being fawned over.

"Okay, here's the scoop: the reason that you were shot is that there are bad guys that are trying to get rid of your family. When they realized that you weren't dead, they came here. Right now, they are surrounding the hut." Alex was sure to speak quietly enough that not even her mother could hear.

After she finished saying that part of the story, Jadin sat up and flung his legs over the side of the bed with a large cry of anguish.

"Jadin, _why_ did you do that?" Skye may not have easily shown it earlier, but he really did care about his friend.

"I don't know, I was getting tired of lying down. Just get on with the story." He, like his father, was never one to wait.

"Okay, so Dad and Uncle Ronon are one their way over to get us out of here, then we're going to run as fast as possible back to Kyana, Aunt Teyla and Jake. Then . . ."

"Jake? What? _Why_? I don't get it; I thought he was lost. Why is he here?" Yes, Jadin was _definitely_ never one to wait.

"Shh . . . he's the one that saved our butts. I don't really know what's going on with him; I just know that he's here. After we meet up with them, we're going to go to the Jumper and head out. Any questions?" Alex was more like her mother than she would've liked to admit.

"Yeah, and what about Uncle Rodney?" Skye was always the one that caught the minute details.

"Uh, I don't know, but Dad has it taken care of." Alex had a lot of faith in that statement, and it showed. "Right _now_, we need to hang tight and get ready to run." That was all that Alex could think of to tell them.

"Uh, I have a question. What about this?" Jadin said pointing to his injured leg. "How am I supposed to run?"

"Your dad's coming. He'll carry you." She was happy and she didn't really know why. Maybe it was because she was proud of herself. _Maybe_.

"So, we're just supposed to wait?" Skye asked, obviously annoyed.

"_Yeah_, we are," responded his sister, equally testy.

"Then I'm going back to sleep."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, where did they keep you? You know, while you were gone?" Kyana asked as she sat on the table next to Jake. She was happy to be able to just talk to Jake now that her father was gone. Granted, her mother was there, but Teyla was far off in the corner. Kyana didn't even think that her mother could hear.

"Uh, they didn't hold me anywhere. Actually, they made me constantly move around, hoping that I would run into one of you guys. I knew all of your schedules, so I just went where you weren't." Jake said this with almost a little pride: he was proud of the cunning that it took to have all of them alive and uninjured. Well, alive.

"Oh. Why didn't you tell anyone what was going on? I mean, you could have dropped a note or something." She was trying to understand.

"Not really. I don't know who the guys were, but whoever they were, everyone trusted them. I mean, they were always with me and no one noticed. I couldn't even whistle without them rushing over to me. It was a bit weird." Jake could see the shock in Kyana's eyes, but he had gotten used to the fact. "It wasn't that bad, I'm still alive, right?" He was trying to calm his . . . to calm Kyana. He hated to see her looking so lost.

"Yeah, I guess. What do you think they're going to do? I mean, Dad's going to kill the ones here, but said that they are more. Do you think that we can eradicate the rest of them once we get back home?" Kyana was full of questions, but knowing the answers usually kept her calm.

"Um . . ." It was obvious that he didn't want to answer. "I think that we're going to have a hard time getting rid of them honestly, but it can be done. I'll make sure of it." Jake made a motion to put his hand around her shoulder, but Kyana looked back at Teyla and he got the hint.

"Well, how can it be hard? You know what they look like and where their operation is based, don't you?" She _just_ wanted to understand.

"Yes, but it isn't that easy. They didn't have a set meeting room; they just shoved me into whatever room happened to be empty. They only way that I can track them is by their faces and their IDs." Jake said this with a sly smile.

"IDs?" Kyana was starting to _like_ this turn of events.

"Yeah. Right before I left the city, I took as many ID's as I could." Jake's smile was getting a little bigger.

"You know that they were most likely using fake ones, right?" Those were the first words to come out of Teyla since the men had left. It almost startled the other two.

"Yes, Mom, but you don't understand. The policy on Atlantis is that if you lose your ID, you file for a new one. We should know who they are by the paperwork. Jake, you're a genius!" Kyana was proud; proud of Jake for doing it and herself for figuring it out.

"Actually, I just did it for the names, but good point. So we know who's the brains of this . . . operation." He wanted to say "relationship", but figured that "operation" was better.

"So right now, we need to rush back to Atlantis and check the records. It's nice to have plan." Jake was more or less talking to himself at the moment.

"So what do we do now?" Kyana hated waiting, just like her impetuous father.

"Wait." Teyla knew her daughter and knew that was the one word she didn't want to hear. But there was nothing left they _could_ do but that.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, how much longer do you think it'll take until we get there?" John asked as he ran, trying to keep up with Ronon.

"Well, we just left thirty seconds ago, so I guess that it'll be another minute or two." Ronon said sarcastically.

"Really? Are you _sure_?" John couldn't believe that he was this tired after such a short distance.

"Yeah, I'm sure. See, you can still see the hut where we cane from." Ronon said pointing back.

"Well, I . . . gosh!" John said, frustrated.

"What?" Ronon said almost apathetically.

"We left them back there without a radio or any means of communication! It could get bad, and they won't even be able to contact us." John was mad at himself for not thinking of it before.

"It's ok, they'll be fine." Ronon was fine with the fact that he left his wife and daughter, and Jake, without a way to talk to them.

"What if we need to contact them?" John was finding a small sense of peace in the fact that Ronon didn't seem to care.

"We won't need to contact them, and even if we do, it'll be fine. Calm down." Ronon was still slightly farther ahead then John, but they were close enough to talk.

"So, that's nice," John said with a smirk.

His only response was a confused look, so he decided to elaborate. "I mean, you trust the safety of your daughter and wife in the hands of Jake. It's nice that you trust a pupil like that." John was almost proud of Ronon.

"No, actually, I was thinking of it as the other way around," Ronon said with a smile.

John chuckled at the comment. "I see." He didn't have much more to say. They both looked forward, and at the same time, picked up speed.

Only a minute later, they started to approach the place that John left Elizabeth to head to Teyla.

"So, now we just need to find where they are," John said, looking around curiously.

"There," Ronon said succinctly as he pointed to a hut surrounded by three people. "There's another one on the other side of the hut," Ronon added, eyes narrowed.

"How do you know that?" John thought that Ronon was just making stuff up.

"Look, there's a shadow. It isn't from any of the other three," Ronon said as he started to assume position.

"Okay, good observation. Now what do we do?" John was a little confused.

"You stay back, I'll take care of them and give you a signal, and then you'll come and help me get our people out of there," Ronon said as he got his gun out of its holster, eyes glittering ominously in the glaring moonlight from above.

"Sounds good. Oh! One thing: we have three kids in there; you can't just go killing them." John was speaking more for his wife then himself.

"Then what do you suggest? I can't stun them, because I can't carry four men _and_ Jadin. If we stun them and leave them, then they'll get away." Ronon was irritated; it was obvious that he wanted to go _now_.

"How long can your stun last?" John asked, obviously formulating a plan.

"Half-hour, why?" Ronon wasn't in the mood for anything that slowed the operation down.

"You don't need me, how about a change of plans?"

There was a pause, then a hesitant: "What do you mean?"

"I _mean_, how about I leave, meet up with Rodney at the Jumper, come here to pick you guys and the stunned bad guys up, _then_ we fly over to get the others. After that it's as simple as heading back to Atlantis and interviewing them. That way, this won't be worth nothing. Sound okay?" It was a crazy plan, but it could very easily work.

"It could work, but you would have to be fast, and you don't seem to be good at that tonight," Ronon said bluntly.

"I can do it, just stay here with them. I'll be here in five minutes. Just stun them and stay here. Oh, and if you could tie them up too, that would be good." John was happy that he was the boss again.

"Okay, but you need to be back here in five minutes!" It was obvious that the plan scared Ronon—there were too many places for it to go wrong.

"The only thing that can slow me down is Rodney," John said confidently before departing.

"Now, all that I have to do is stun four people with guns. No problem. Easy." Ronon said with hesitation in his voice. Was he honestly ready for this when so much was at stake?

_To Be Continued. . ._


	7. Chapter 7

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 7/?

**Chapter 7**

"I hate waiting!" Kyana stated sourly from her little chair. She had decided to find a more comfortable spot than the table.

"What do you suggest that we do, leave and get shot?" It was obvious that Jake didn't like waiting either. He tended to get a bit irritable, and the sarcasm in his voice reflected that.

"No, I just want them to get back here soon. What's taking so long?" Kyana whined as she leaned over to view Jake's watch. It had only been three minutes—really? It felt like so much longer.

"Just running time should be another minute or so. You need to learn patience," Teyla admonished softly, lying down on a cot that she'd found. The Athosian leader always seemed to know what time it was without a watch. She was good at this. Either she was trying to teach her daughter, or she wanted enough silence to sleep—perhaps a little of both.

Kyana assumed that it was the latter since as of recent everyone on the team was getting four hours of sleep a night. "It's not easy. I want to be helping right now, and all that I'm doing is sitting on a _chair_ made for someone half my size." She got cross when she was anxious, just like Jake.

"And complaining about it is not going to make it any easier. Try to find something to do to pass the time." Teyla wasn't even lifting her hand off of her eyes to look at her daughter: she was too tired.

"What do you suggest?" Kyana was willing to admit when she was bored. However, she was very careful to keep the bite out of her tone when she spoke. There was no point in getting in trouble.

"I suggest you sleep." Teyla said as she turned over on her other side, thus ending the conversation.

"Yeah, right. _That's_ not going to happen," she said with a sigh and quick roll of her eyes. She was bored. B-O-R-E-D bored. Stiff.

She looked around for things to occupy herself. Finally, when her eyes had made it all the way across the room, she glanced up at Jake, who had managed to find himself a nice nap spot on the table above her.

"Entertain me, I'm bored," Kyana ordered with facetious airs as she poked him.

If she were any other person, then he would have either slapped her or ignored her, but this was Kyana. He slowly turned to face her and looked into her eyes, almost as if to ask her to take the request back.

She didn't.

He sat up with a moan. "Okay, what do you want to do?" Jake said as happily as he could.

"I don't know, you decide," Kyana said with almost a playful tone and a daring sparkle of her jade eyes.

He would give into those eyes _any_ time. "Okay." Jake was thinking about alternatives, because he didn't have enough brain power to teach her any of the games that he and his sister used to play.

"Okay, have I ever taught you 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'?" Jake said with a sly smile. He liked teaching games like these; games that any human could play.

"What?" Kyana was confused.

"No? Good! I'll teach you now!" He was happy; they could still talk while playing. After all, it didn't take much brain power to play.

Kyana liked Jake when he was like this. When he was happy like this, his eyes lit up; this made her happy. There was something about Jake. She seemed to find joy in him. It was at this moment that she realized how much he affected her. When he was happy, so was she. What did that mean?

They spent the next while playing and talking. They enjoyed being able to talk again now that Jake was free and Teyla was asleep. They were content.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Mom!" Skye said this in a very loud, scared voice.

"Shh! What is it?" Elizabeth walked over closer to him so that he didn't have to speak as loudly.

"They're getting closer," Skye whispered as he looked out the window. "What are they going to do? Who are they going to hurt?" He whispered this even quieter so Jadin couldn't hear, because he knew the truth. He just didn't want to acknowledge it.

"They won't hurt anyone. I'll make sure of it," Elizabeth said with iron determination as she took his hand and walked over to the cot where Jadin was. She called the others over, not want to say what she had to, but she had thought this out. She knew that the people out there, whoever they were, were just trying to hurt Jadin. Otherwise, what would've taken them this long? She presumed that the reason it took this long was that they didn't want to hurt anyone else. She thought that if she could get everyone inside the shack to surround him, then it could stall their enemy until John and Ronon got there.

She resolved this just as she reached cot, and looked around at the windows. If she could move Jadin an inch to the left, then the only window they could shoot through would be the one to the right.

Jadin was sitting upright now, so she sat in next to him between him and the window.

"So, how are you doing? Is there anything I can do for you?" Elizabeth didn't want Jadin to know her plan, so she allowed her voice and facial expression to betray none of her inner turmoil.

Jadin turned to angle her better, thus putting himself almost directly in line with the window.

"Uh, can you move a little to your left? I need to see out the window." Elizabeth knew what she was doing, or at least she fervently hoped that she did.

"Yeah, sure. Ahh!" Jadin groaned loudly with pain as he shifted again, this time too quickly. "Okay, I'm not doing so good. I think that it's getting infected or something." Jadin said that as though he weren't in excruciating pain, but all that you had to do was look in his eyes to tell that he was in agony.

Elizabeth was impressed with his threshold for pain. This was undoubtedly something that he got from his father.

"Let me see it, son." Carson always came running at the word "infection." He moved over with a stool and nudged Elizabeth out of the way.

Weir looked at him, and then looked at the window. She decided that if she moved an inch or two, then; between Carson and her, Jadin would be safe.

Jadin lifted his bandage up. "Ewww!" said Skye from the foot of the cot. He ran to the head, where his sister was.

Alex realized that she could get a better view from the foot, so she ran there. Besides, she was still vexed with her brother.

"Okay, I need to disinfect this, but it's going to hurt, do you think you can take it without pain killers?" Carson asked Jadin.

"Why can't you give him any pain killers?" Elizabeth was really feeling sorry for the boy that she considered her nephew.

"Well, they take a while to work. I figure that by the time their in effect, we won't be here," Carson said the last part with a lowered voice, his brogue growing heavier with concern.

"Just do it!" Jadin snapped, wanting it to be over with.

Carson got the required medical utensils and started to work.

"Hang on!" Alex almost yelled as she ran over to Jadin's head.

"What?" Jadin asked, frustrated that she'd interrupted.

Alex handed her friend a piece of cloth. "In case it hurts too much, you can bite on this." she said caringly.

The two paused a moment, just looking at each other. Finally, "Thanks. Thanks a lot," Jadin said to her retreating form as she started to walk away.

"Ready now?" Carson asked, instruments poised to begin.

"Ready," Jadin said as he started to grip the bed.

Carson started to work, and it was about eight seconds before Jadin realized how much this was going to hurt. He was gripping the bed until his knuckles were white, teeth clenched so tightly to hold in his gasp of pain that he thought his jaws were going to explode. He had been looking at the ceiling, but decided to close his eyes so no one could see him cry.

After Alex got a good idea for what was going on, she moved up to the head of the bed again. Her caring little heart hurting, she bent down to talk in his ear. "Are you okay? Uncle Carson has done this on a lot of adults, and all of them were crying by now. And they even had pain killers." Alex was impressed by her friend's amazing courage, but at the same time she was still worried.

She didn't get a response. "Are you alive?" She asked in a mildly sarcastic voice, trying to hide how worried she was.

There was a pause. "Yeah, I just don't wanna talk. You can still talk to me, though." He still wouldn't open his eyes, but he liked it when she talked to him. _It's always good to have a friend's company, right?_ "Okay," he finally conceded.

Alex wanted to talk to him to get his mind off of what was happening, but she didn't know what to say. She couldn't ask him anything, because that would make him have to talk. "I don't know what to say," she admitted in a small voice. Then she looked at his face and realized that he probably couldn't hear what she was saying—it was just a familiar voice that he wanted.

She was too tired and distraught to think of something worth saying, so she started talking about what was on her mind. She told him what she wanted to be when she grew up and about the family that she wanted to have. She knew that he wasn't listening, so she said whatever she wanted.

Carson finished up with his work and Jadin still lay on the cot with his eyes closed. He stayed like that for a minute or so. Finally, when he thought that all of his tears had gone, he opened his eyes and looked around.

Elizabeth was still in her strategic position and Carson was up cleaning his tools and stuff. Skye was sitting against the wall close to the foot of his cot, but where was Alex? He turned his head, frantically searching what part of the shack he could see, but he couldn't find her.

Jadin took a big, nervous swallow and opened his mouth. "Where's. . ." He felt a tap on his forehead. "Up here," said a familiar voice, and he craned his head backward to see. Alex was still sitting at the head of the cot, smiling with something he could only think was relief. "Have you been there this whole time?" Jadin tried to squirm to see her more, and without craning his neck. When he did, Elizabeth shifted too.

"Yeah. How are you feeling?" Alex said in the exact same tone as her Uncle Carson. In fact, it was so similar that Elizabeth started to laugh. "What?" Alex said as she snapped her head around to stare at her mother.

"Nothing. It's just the way that you said that. It sounds like something Carson would say." Elizabeth decided to stop laughing now, since no one else seemed to find the humor in her discovery. "I'm doing. . ."

_Snap!_

"What was that?" Skye asked, his relieved smile disappearing in favor of worry. At least this time, he'd remembered to not yell.

"Honey could you check?" Elizabeth asked her daughter so that she could stay positioned.

"Sure, Mom." Alex walked to the window that Elizabeth was blocking and nonchalantly looked out. "Three of them are outside this window now. I wonder how many more there are on the other sides," Alex said as she walked over to her mom. She got in her lap and curled up, looking at Jadin.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"See what I mean, the lady has the kid blocked," said one of the guys, looking in the window.

"I don't see what the problem is. Why don't we just shoot her and then shoot the kid after she falls?" said the second.

"Because, you idiot, that's Weir; as in, the leader of Atlantis. The dumbest thing that we can do right now is kill her. Maybe if we can walk over to the other window, we'll get a better shot," growled the third.

"No, that won't work. The kid is right under the window. We would have to stick our arm in and angle it down for that to work. I say that the three of us wait here, and we leave two on that side. He'll be toast if he moves an inch in any direction. Is it a plan?" asked the first again.

"Yeah, I'll step away from the window and radio beta with the plan," conceded the third.

And so they waited.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay, I've made it and now I'm here. Now I need to hang tight and wait. Hold on. What am I waiting for? Is John supposed to come here or am I supposed to fly there? No, if I was supposed to fly there, then I should remember John telling me. Maybe I am supposed to be there and all of the adrenaline is making me forget. That makes sense. Otherwise, why wouldn't he be here by now? John's a faster runner than I am and I got stopped by the girl. So I should go get them. Where are they? That's it; I should radio John and ask him where he is. But, what if he's compromised and radioing him will give his position away? No, if he was compromised, then I hope he'll be smart enough to turn his radio off. I'll radio him."

Upon finishing this conversation with himself, Rodney pushed the button on his radio to contact John. "Uh, John, where are you?" Rodney asked.

He heard a noise. Was it coming from the radio? It was more like a _thump_. No, that wasn't right either—it was like someone was pounding on the back of the Jumper!

"I'm here, it's me, let me in!" John yelled from outside, aggravated.

"Hold on, you told me to come and get you," Rodney said questioningly.

"Why on earth would I do that? I told you to stay here until I came. Are you okay? Did you have any injuries to the head?" John was being half funny, but he was kind of worried about Rodney.

"No, I'm fine, but if you said to open it to only you, then how should I know that you're John Shepherd?" Rodney was really too tired and confused to be in charge of anything.

"I'm me. Well, I bet that doesn't cut it. My wife's name is Elizabeth, my kids' names are Skye and Alex. Your sister's name is Jeannie, and your name is Meredith. Does that help?" John was starting to get impatient, which made him mad.

He figured that the answer was positive when the Jumper door dropped slowly downwards. "Thank you, now let's _go_!" John said as he shooed Rodney out of the pilot's chair so he could fly the ship.

It was to be expected, but John was praying that Rodney would sit in his seat like a good boy.

No such luck. "Where? Where are we going? What's going on?"

"We're going to get Ronon, Jadin, Carson, my wife and kids, and some guests. _Then_, we're going to load up and fly over to get Teyla, Kyana, and Jake." John already had the jumper in the air and they were on their way.

"Where has Teyla been and why are we . . . Whoa, wait a minute! _Jake_? Why is he here? I thought he was . . . why is he here?" Rodney thought that they were very valuable questions.

"Teyla has been with us. We've been hiding from the bad guys and devising a plan. Jake is here because he was sent to kill the Dex family, but instead, saved all of our butts. Now, does that help?" John thought that it would be easier to answer the questions then to pass them off and let Rodney keep annoying him.

"Well, I _guess_ it helps. Who are the bad guys?" The answers helped, but there was still so much that he didn't know.

"All right, I'll tell you what. I don't really know the answer to that question, so I'll make you a deal. I'll let you ask another question. But, there's a catch, you can only ask _one_ more question, so think carefully and I'll tell you the answer if I can." John would've done almost anything for that moment of silence that he had while Rodney was thinking.

"Who are the guests that we're going to pick up with Carson and them?" Rodney was proud of the question that he thought of.

"They are the four bad guys that were surrounding the shack that the others were in. Hopefully, they'll be stunned by the time that we get there." John was about a third of the way there by now.

"Why would we. . ." Rodney was trying to ask another question, but he was cut off by a rude look.

"Look, I could've just told you that we were picking some bad guys up, but I chalked my answer full of as much information as possible. I held up my end of the deal, now shush!" John snapped. He still hadn't given Rodney eye contact. He hoped that if he was rude enough, Rodney would leave. He was right. Now all that he had to do was fly a ten minute flight in three without being noticed.

No problem. All in a day's work. _Oh. . .crap._

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Why are they all moving to that window?" Ronon asked himself as he surveyed the area. _Think positive, think positive, right. _ "Okay, I'll just take it as they want to make it easier on me. That works."

Ronon started to close in on them, making sure to go unnoticed. "Wait. Weren't there four? There's only three. Oh, there he is." Ronon noticed the shadow of the fourth on the other side of the shack.

"Hold on, why am I talking to myself? I sound like McKay!" Ronon said softly, shaking his head in disgust.

This time he turned to the privacy and quiet of his thoughts. _So, if I head in, take those guys out, then the fourth is going to come running from . . . that side. That means that all I have to do is be ready. This is too easy. _He decided that talking to himself wasn't as bad if other people couldn't hear. He had a plan—a good one.

So, a few second later, the people inside the hut heard a _swoosh, swoosh, swoosh_!

Ronon could hear his son going, "Yes! Dad's here!" Then a cautionary: "Shush, there are four. We only heard three shots," coming from someone that he guessed to be Alex.

"Oh!" Jadin said very softly, clapping a hand over his mouth. Over his fingers, his brown eyes looked huge.

Elizabeth was worried. Now that the others were down, the last was probably going to try and take out Jadin.

_Zwoop!_

_Never mind._ Elizabeth sagged in relief at the sound of Dex's weapon discharging again, taking care of their last assailant.

Ronon ran in and went straight for Jadin, pushing the others out of the way. Jadin sat up with a moan. "Are you alright? Let me see it," Ronon said as he sat on the cot next to his son.

Skye wanted to talk to Ronon, but his sister poked him sharply and told him not to. She was right; they needed to give the two a moment of privacy.

Elizabeth was worried about something and Skye could tell. She started to walk up to Ronon, but Skye held her back. "Wait a minute, let them finish."

He said it so sweetly that she decided to obey. Instead, she walked outside and touched her radio button. "John, where the heck are you?" She sounded mad, but she was scared—scared and worried.

"Uh, I'm in the Jumper, almost there, why?" John said as if she was supposed to know what was going on.

Elizabeth exhaled with joy. "What? I thought the plan was to . . ." she got interrupted.

"The plan was changed. Is Ronon there?" John knew that she didn't have to know everything to be content.

"Yes, he just got here. He's talking to Jadin. We're ready whenever you are," she said in a cute voice.

"When he's done, tell him that I'm two minutes away. See you then." He was happy to hear her voice, but there wasn't much else to say.

"See you then. I love you. Weir out." Letting out a deep, cleansing breath, she walked back inside and tried to find Alex.

Elizabeth spotted her digging through a box in the corner. With a triumphant grin, Alex pulled out some rope and headed outside.

"Uh, honey, could you please save that for Uncle Ronon?" Elizabeth knew that Alex was good at tying knots, but she also knew that there were more harmful people outside that could be anywhere.

"Yes Mom," Alex said as she rolled her eyes in a manner that plainly stated that her uncle got to have _all_ the fun. She dropped the rope and sat on a stool, arms crossed and lower lip out in a slight pout.

After they had finished their very brief conversation, Ronon stood up, grabbed the rope, and went outside. A minute later, he came back in and stood in the middle of the room.

"John should be here within the minute," Elizabeth said as she looked up at Dex.

"Okay. He said that he would park as close as possible, so you shouldn't need help carrying your stuff, right?" Ronon said to Carson.

"No, you just get Jadin, and I'll take care of my stuff, thank you." Carson was used to Ronon carrying his stuff for him whenever possible, but he could handle it.

They heard a noise, and Skye (being closest) peeked out the window. "_It's Dad!_" the younger Sheppard shouted in a voice that was overflowing with excitement.

"That it is." Elizabeth liked how John was always her hero. Of course, she forgot that it was Ronon that just shot four guys all by himself—but who wouldn't in the face of such a dramatic (albeit late) arrival by one's husband?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The enemy had split up into teams of two and they were searching the village and the woods.

"Hey, I think I see something!" said Six.

"What?" said his partner, Seven, craning his neck to see.

"Look, over in that hut, there's a candle lit and there are shadows. Everyone is searching for Teyla right now, so who's in there?" Six asked proudly. He was swollen with pride that he had noticed something as small as that when the hut was so far away.

"Yeah, I guess that it's worth checking out." Seven didn't want to sound excited, that meant that Six was better than he at searching.

Silently, they headed over, being sure to stay out of sight of anyone who might peer out the window. Once they got to the hut, Seven saw that Six was right: they could see Kyana, but that was it.

All of the other windows were shut. They knew that there was at least one other person on one side, and another with Kyana. However, they didn't know who these others were and if there were more than even that.

"I don't think it's worth risking; let's radio Five and Three. The four of us should be able to take them." Seven decided to step up and say what Six must have been thinking.

"Hey, get over here, we have them, but need back-up," Six said into his radio, paused, and then continued with his directions, shooting Seven a "shut up" look.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake hopped off of the table and sauntered over to the window. "Yeah, what I thought," he said as he headed back.

"What?" Kyana was wondering why he interrupted their game of tic-tac-toe.

"The enemy is closing in on us." Jake said this in a tone so apathetic that it was a tad scary.

"How many are there?" Teyla said as she sat up, concerned.

"Mom, how long have you been awake?" Kyana was concerned that she had been eavesdropping on her and Jake's conversation.

"When Jake got up to look out the window he woke me up," Teyla responded in a tone that Kyana knew meant her mother was lying.

At least Jake didn't know. "What are we supposed to do?" Kyana was starting to realize what this meant.

"Well, first, we should barricade the doors, then move to the middle of the room where they can't shoot us from the windows, then hang tight until your dad gets here." Jake was barricading as he spoke. He had been through all kinds of scenarios like this in training, _but_ he had guns in all of them.

"_How_ can you not be scared?" Kyana was almost mad at his coolness towards the situation.

"I don't know, I guess that it's a mix between military and macho," he said in his cute voice. In truth, he was scared out of his wits, but how was admitting it going to help anything? All it would do was make the others more nervous than they already were.

"The doors are barricaded, let's go. . . in here," Jake said as he walked around looking for a good spot. He found a rather large pantry-type room.

"I do not know who the owner of the house is, but they seem to be wealthy. Most of the houses here are only two to four rooms. This seems to have six," Teyla said as she walked to the pantry and looked around, her hair mussed and a tired look in her eyes.

They hadn't gone deeper in the house before because they hadn't want to invade the family's privacy. However, now they figured that it was too late to worry about that. At left them to huddle in one area that they knew they would be safe for at least a moment or so.

"Jake," Kyana said in a quiet voice so only he could hear.

"Yeah?" he responded, tone equally soft.

"I'm scared." That admission cost her more than Jake would—_could_—ever know.

He knew this by looking in her eyes. This was odd to him. He wasn't used to her being afraid of anything. What made this so different? Jake thought for a second, then realized the truth with a mixed sense of pride and fear.

The reason that Kyana hadn't been scared before was that it was only her own safety on the line then. This time, she wasn't scared for herself; she was scared for her family. She was more afraid of her family being hurt then for herself.

Jake now had a new respect for her as he moved over to sit next to her. He put his arm around her shoulder and smiled down into her intelligent green eyes. "You don't have to be, you know. I'm here, and I promise that I'm not going anywhere." He saw that Teyla was watching, but he didn't care.

Kyana snuggled into his side, but didn't return is smile. "So now we wait. Great." She said under her breath, and prepared to wait. Again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Here we are. Right now, your job is to help in whatever way necessary to get everyone back on the Jumper. I'm going to get the stunned guys into the ship and Ronon is taking care of Jadin. So, all that you have to do is help Elizabeth get the kids buckled in. Any questions?" John was obviously quite good at multi-tasking to be able to land the Jumper and lecture Rodney at the same time.

"Yes, why exactly does Ronon need to help Jadin?" Rodney's lack of knowledge made him feel less important. Usually, he was the first person to know everything.

"_Because_, he was injured by the enemy. Now, are there any questions that you have that pertain to your job?" The Jumper was now landed, so Rodney just shook his head and headed to the back door. John lowered it, and together, they exited.

Once they were at the entrance of the shack, Rodney went inside and John went all the way around to make sure everything was secure. He was pleased to find that while tying them up, Ronon had left a pull rope to make it easier on him. He grabbed the closest one and headed back.

By the time that he arrived at the Jumper, Elizabeth was coming out of the shack. Her eyes met John's and she smiled. He dragged the unconscious bad guy into the Jumper and headed back out.

His wife intercepted his path to the rest of the bodies. "Wow, you look tired," she said as she wrapped her arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I don't know why. I feel as awake as a bear after hibernation," John said as he put his arm around her slender shoulders and started to walk towards the other men.

"So, why the sudden change of plans?" Elizabeth was so happy to talk to him after what felt like hours of suspense and tension.

"We got here and I realized what it would do to the kids to kill those people in front of them. I didn't want murder to be a heroic thing to them. We thought that the new plan would be just as effective as the old, so we went with the flow and hoped for the best." John was kind of proud of himself for being responsible.

They now reached the others, and John grabbed a rope and looked over at Elizabeth. To his surprise, she had grabbed a man too. He smiled at the thought of her trying to drag him, but wondered if he should slow up for her or leave her behind. He decided to go slower. When he looked back at Elizabeth, she had passed him and was giving him a pleased grin. "See you back at the Jumper, dear!"

Half-smiling at her eternal spunkiness, he sped up and was doing all that he could to keep up.

"How are you doing this?" John was proud, but he also felt a lot weaker.

"I didn't just run who knows how many miles, and fly alone with Rodney. I don't have a reason to be tired. Plus, I grabbed the smallest one on purpose." She said this as the got back to the Jumper, still energetically dragging her prisoner. However, now that she was there she was having a hard time getting her man in the Jumper. Ronon was already there, so he saw her trouble and grabbed the rope from her to ease her struggles.

"Thank you, Ronon," she said to him as John was dragging his guy in.

Sheppard let his man down and then looked around the Jumper. Everyone was in the ship, including the last man. He walked over to him and looked at him with a confused look, wondering how he'd gotten there.

"I went around the other end of the building and grabbed him while you getting yours," Ronon said it with a pleased smirk.

"But. . . Okay guys, prepare for take-off." John realized that it wasn't worth going into. They needed to leave.

"Jake made it sound like there are more on the mainland. I hope the others are safe." The Jumper was now in the air, but the trouble was far from over.

_To Be Continued. . ._


	8. Chapter 8

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 8/?

**Chapter 8**

"What was that?" The closer Jake listened, the more frightened he became.

"I think it was them." Teyla was closest to the door, so the sound was a little clearer. "It sounded about five to ten feet away from the hut." The Athosian wasn't military, but she had as finely trained senses as any soldier. She could tell you how far a fish was underwater by the size of its air bubble.

"I wish we knew who 'they' are. Maybe that would help us know how to fight 'them' off." The main reason that Kyana didn't like waiting is that it made her think too much. The longer that she wasn't doing anything, the more she thought. Her thoughts led to uncertainty and her uncertainty led to fear. She did welcome the darkness of the room, however. She knew that if it was any lighter, Jake wouldn't have his arm around her shoulders. He never even held her hand around Teyla. She was just glad to have Jake at her side.

"Well, we know that they're from Atlantis, or at least they were there for a short time. We also know that they're using our weapons. So, my best guess would be to fight them like they were us." Jake was trying to calm her, but he didn't know if it was working.

"Yeah, well there's only one problem with that," Kyana said as she looked at him. It didn't do any good; it was so dark that she couldn't see anything.

"What's that?" He knew that she was looking at him, so he looked at her. The thing that neither of them knew is that there faces were about a hair's breadth away from each other.

"We hardly ever get beaten," she responded with trepidation.

When she said this, Jake could hear and feel how close their lips were. He snapped his head to look at Teyla, making sure that she couldn't see them. Thankfully, he was right: she couldn't. "Well, then, if it's us against them, then I guess we'll just have to--"

"--Wait and see." Kyana knew that had to be what came next. It was the only thing that couldn't have made it any worse.

_Thump_.

"That was closer than ten feet." Jake was trying not to overwhelm them. He was supposed to be the man in this situation, the rock. Instead, he felt more like Jell-O.

"I think it's them at the door." Kyana's voice was so full of apathy at this point that it was bizarre.

"Why aren't you scared any more?" Jake looked at her, muttering a soft curse when they banged foreheads in the darkness.

"It's not like being scared will help our situation any. The only thing we can do is be quiet, lock the door, and hope that they don't find this little room, or realize its significance." Kyana pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. When she did this, Jake's arm fell off her shoulder.

He jerked it back and put it in his lap, feeling rejected.

Kyana opened her mouth to tell him what was going on, but realized that: (1) it would tell her mom that he'd had his arm around her shoulder (2) 'They' could have heard her voice and come in, and (3) She still wasn't sure if she wanted him to know that she liked his arm around her shoulder that much.

Her thoughts were abruptly broken when they heard the door break down. Kyana wanted to cry; she'd never been in a situation like this other than in training—and this was definitely not training. Her mother and the man she thought she might love were here, too. She didn't mind dying herself, but she didn't want her mother or Jake to be killed. She loved her mother and knew that her father and brother would be heartbroken if Teyla were to be killed (at this point she selflessly didn't think about herself); the same went for Jake's mother, sister, and father if he were killed.

She scooted even closer to Jake, grabbed his arm, and put it back around her shoulders. Jake squeezed her tightly, and she felt him smile into her hair. Kyana knew that death was more a possibility at this point than life, but somehow here she felt safer than ever.

"Come on guys! I'm telling you, they were in here. Let's search the place. Come on!"

The voice made Jake shiver. Kyana wanted to ask him why, but knew that she couldn't talk. Instead, she laid her head on his shoulder. It was then that she felt something weird. Jake was trembling.

_Now_ she was scared.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"See, I'm telling you, they're not here." Five was still opposing any potential that they were in the right place. "It goes against my gut; this place just doesn't feel right. Plus, we've searched this place up and down. We've done the best that we can with this little light. How 'bout we leave, keep looking, then, we'll come back when the sun's a little higher." He turned to leave.

"No. We have direct orders to catch them. We saw them in here." Six was getting frustrated; and not just at Five's defiance. He was mad at the whole situation.

"He's right; we need to make sure that they got out somehow." Seven was trying to keep his boss status, acting in charge as he stood there thinking for a moment. "Whattya you say we smoke 'em outta here?"

"How are we supposed to do that?" Three had been in the corner, but he decided to speak up--tentatively.

Seven grabbed the candle and started twirling it around as he talked. "What do you mean? It's easy. Look, here's a candle, there's a fireplace. All's we have t' do is put the two together and stop up the chimney." He was moving the candle around to much that he accidentally ignited one of the walls. "Okay, I guess it's settled, we'll set the house on fire and wait for 'em to come out." Seven sat the candle holder down, threw the candle into another room, and ran out of the house. All the others quickly followed his example.

"Now, we wait for them to come out. You two," Seven said, pointing to Five and Three, "walk around and make sure there's no other way to get out." He smirked and turned around, surveying the surroundings like a conquering general.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How far are we?" Ronon asked from his position hovering over Jadin. He was never one for sitting and waiting.

"About a minute or so." John didn't even look back. He was busy using his scanner for life signs. He saw on the map where there were three people in the vicinity that he and Ronon had left Teyla, Kyana, and Jake in. He also saw a lot of other little white dots around them.

He knew that most of them were people searching, but feared that the others were 'Them.' "I know that they're safe for. . . crap!" It was a good thing that John saw Skye out of the corner of his eye; otherwise, it would have been profanity instead of "crap".

"What?" Elizabeth sat down in the copilot's seat and looked up at the map transposed over the front windscreen. What she saw disturbed her, but she hadn't looked at things like that enough to know if her suspicion was valid, so she asked what it meant.

"See that?" John pointed to the three stationary dots; two were white and one was blue. "That's Teyla, Kyana, and Jake," John said with apprehension. "Teyla is the blue one because she's chipped."

"Okay, so that means that the four dots closing in on them are . . .?" Elizabeth said with a questioning tone

". . . Probably not good guys," Ronon stated tightly from behind her.

"Right." _I was afraid he was going to say that_. Elizabeth stood and went back to the kids. She felt a strange comfort when she was with them.

"What does that mean, Dad?" Alex's ignorance was almost comforting.

"It means that we need to speed things up," John told his daughter as he was hitting buttons on the control panel before him.

"Hey, not a good idea!" Rodney protested grumpily, looking up form his screen. "If you go faster, then the data isn't as accurate. If that happens, then we could we could miss them and have to double back." Rodney now was sitting in the seat next to John, which Elizabeth had vacated only moments before.

"Okay, then I'll just go a little faster. I should be able to see where they are without the readout." John kept hitting buttons, and the jumper accelerated.

Rodney got up and went back to his screen.

"Sheppard, how much longer?" Now _Ronon_ was in the chair next to him.

_Are we suddenly playing musical chairs or what?_ Swallowing back the question, which was not the most appropriate thing to say in the situation they were stuck in, he chose instead to answer the ex-Runner's question. "About a minute or so, why?" John knew why Ronon had asked, he just wanted to make it look like it wasn't such a big deal.

"The dots are getting closer. They're only ten feet away from the three dots." Ronon was scared: he really cared about the people in there. Well, at least two of them.

"Yeah, but they could be villagers looking for Teyla." John was trying his best to comfort his friend. He knew that if their places were reversed, he wouldn't be as composed as Ronon was.

"Sheppard, that's my _wife_ and _daughter_." Ronon looked away from the readout so John could see his eyes.

What Sheppard saw there scared him. He saw rage, frustration—but, more than anything else, all-consuming terror. He hadn't seen this much fear in Ronon's eyes since Teyla had nearly been killed by Aharon Kolya not so very long ago. This situation, so close on the heels of the other, was an unsettling return to raw emotions for Dex.

"We're almost there," John said, tearing his gaze away to look outside. They were closer than he thought—he could almost see the hut in the distance. He looked up at the screen, then gulped: the seven dots were almost touching. The four couldn't be any farther than four feet away from the three.

_Let's hope that they're hidden well_,thought almost everyone in the jumper.

Elizabeth, forever the presence of calm as the expedition leader, stepped forward and placed her hands on the back of her husband's seat. That leant John both the physical and emotional support he needed to keep a steady hand and mind.

Ronon didn't take his eyes off the three blips on the screen that represented his family, and Jake. He noticed that out of the three dots, two were touching and the third was a little farther away. "That better be Kyana and Teyla!" Ronon didn't mean to say it aloud, but it slipped out before he could stop it.

"What?" asked John as he looked over. He didn't see anything unusual.

Elizabeth looked at the screen and snickered. She knew exactly what Ronon was thinking.

"Nothing," Ronon said gruffly, not taking his eyes off the dots. He was slightly comforted to see that the four were wandering and the three were still stationary. Although it confirmed that they weren't villagers sweeping through looking for Teyla; it meant that his wife and daughter were safe . . . for the time being.

The sun was just starting to rise. They could now see the hut in the distance.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh, gosh, is that smoke?" Kyana whispered ever-so-quietly as she crawled to the door.

"I'm afraid so," replied Teyla as she moved out of the way to let her daughter pass.

"Why is there smoke?" Jake asked angrily. From what he had heard, he was expecting the bad guys to leave any minute now. _If that is so, dummy, why do we smell smoke?_

"I am worried that they are trying to extract us by filling the house with smoke so we can no longer breathe in here." Teyla was keeping calm since there was no point in panicking.

"You mean they're smoking us out?" Jake wasn't in the mood for good grammar. His only response was a confused look from Teyla.

Kyana looked at both of them, and then focused on Jake. "Yes, she means that they're trying to smoke us out." Kyana was still at the door. It had small gaps in it and, through the gaps, she saw something out of the ordinary, but she couldn't figure out what was different.

"Oh, that's easy then; this is in all of the old movies back on Earth," Jake said with confidence.

"Okay, in that case, what do the people in the movies do to get out of it?" She went back over to Jake; the smoke was too strong by the door for her liking. Teyla now was moving closer to them.

"Uh, crap." Jake's head lowered a little.

"What?" Kyana wasn't in the mood for stammering or pausing.

"Well, they get out of the house and kick the bad guys' butts. I guess that since its four guns against a knife, it won't be that easy." Jake looked off into space as if thinking.

"Hold on. A knife? How do you have a knife? I thought they took away all of your weapons." Kyana was confused.

"Ronon Dex's Policy for Being Captured 101: 'At Least Two Knifes: One for them to find, and one for you to keep.'" Jake said this with a macho voice that made Kyana laugh.

"So, what should we--" Teyla couldn't finish, the noxious gas had infiltrated the room.

"We gotta get out of here. What can we do?" Kyana had no clue why they were looking to Jake to be the leader, but she didn't want to burst his bubble.

"Well _cough_ it's getting too smoky in here. I guess that _cough_ our only options are to: _cough_ try to escape out a back door or something, or to _cough_ surrender, and hope that it buys us enough time to be rescued. The only problem in that I don't know how much good _cough_ surrendering would do. They really don't care about us alive." Jake finished and coughed quite a bit more.

"Then we try to run," Kyana said, crawling back over to the door to look. "Oh . . . crap." It's a good thing that Kyana went with crap. Her mother didn't approve of bad language from either of her children (especially not her daughter, who was supposed to be the example for Jadin).

"What?" Jake crawled over to her and looked out the door. "Crap indeed."

As they looked out, they didn't just see smoke. No, they also saw flames; lots of them. "Okay, we need a back-up plan!" Jake said to Teyla. He'd been leader quite long enough—she had him beat by many years of experience.

"Shh, Jake, you need to be quiet. They might hear us." Teyla said in a hushed tone. Suddenly, they heard a crack, like the noise that a fire makes.

"Yeah, the house is on fire, that's why we haven't heard them in a while and that's why we smell the smoke. They must have caught the house on fire to get us out." Jake tore the door down.

"What are you doing?" Kyana asked, pulling him back from the door.

"We have to get out of here, and I don't see a better way. I don't think that--" he paused to look out the doorway, squinting his stinging eyes against the caustic smoke. "Yeah, there is no way that we can get out any way except the front door, and they'll be there. Our best bet is to grab anything that could be a weapon and try to hold them off until help comes."

"Yeah, about that, shouldn't they be showing up, like ten minutes ago?" Kyana grabbed Jake's wrist and looked at his watch that was using its built-in stopwatch to tick up. It was at thirty three minutes. "They shouldn't have taken any longer than fifteen minutes to get back here. Maybe there was a change of plans, maybe they're--" Kyana was worried, and freaking out--she deserved to be cut off.

"They're fine. Let's go." He grabbed her arm and jerked her into the blaze.

"Come on!" Kyana yelled back to her mother. And together, the trio went into the inferno, working on the little hope of survival that they had.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So how are we gonna do this?" John said as he looked to Ronon. Sheppard understood that they only had two guns, and there were at least four people so something about it didn't seem fair.

"I thought that you could just lower the door and I shoot as you land," Ronon said in a playful tone.

"I know that you're joking, but that would be so awesome, man." John was happy to forget all of the bad things going on at the time. He liked these moments with Ronon.

"I wasn't necessarily joking." Ronon perked up at the thought that he could actually do it.

"No," Elizabeth spoke up sternly from the shadows.

"What?" John said as if his spirits had just been crushed.

"I'm not letting you goof off just for the fun of it! Lives are at stake here." Elizabeth knew that it was her job to keep them grounded.

"It's not just for the fun of it, it's for the awesome stories that we'd have, too," John said jokingly.

"No, seriously, that would be a good strategy." Ronon knew that they didn't have a lot of time before John needed to start landing, less than a minute even, maybe.

"How do you say?" Elizabeth was intrigued by this.

"Well, they won't be expecting it, and he could land it at an angle so that I could use the Jumper as a shield. It's the most cover that I could possibly have." Ronon was very convincing.

Elizabeth couldn't think of a good reason to say no. "Well, then it looks like--what's that?" she interrupted herself. She leaned forward and pointed to the smoldering hut below them.

"I don't know. Let's just get this job taken care of, okay?" They were approaching the hut now, and John angled the Jumper as Ronon had said and started to land. "You ready to go?" John questioned, looking back at Ronon.

"Yeah, you might wanna stay in the air for a minute or so. Wait for me to tell you to land." Ronon thought it would be easier for every one in the Jumper if he could take care of their enemies from the air. At least the kids couldn't see it from the angle that they were situated.

"Okay, I guess. Let's just see you come up here and try to keep the Jumper steady while being shot at," he mumbled to himself.

"What?" Ronon yelled back; he was in position, ready to shoot.

"Go get 'em!" John hit the button and the ramp lowered.

The bad guys, distracted from their posts by the noise, rushed around the side of the hut with weapons blazing. The only thing that could be heard from the ground was the noise of the Jumper; and from the angle that the men were at, they couldn't see Ronon until it was too late for them.

Ronon saw familiar faces emerging from the hut holding a knife, a candlestick, and a torch. They saw Ronon leaning out of the Jumper, and their faces lit up. They ran around the hut to the other side, knowing they would be safe there until the Ancient ship landed.

The only thing that could be heard from inside the Jumper was the sound of Ronon's gun: four swishes and then John heard Ronon say, "All clear. Land it." And with that, they were on the ground.

Teyla, Kyana, and Jake ran around the hut and into the Jumper, looking exhausted but jubilant.

Kyana stopped at the door to hug her father, and then moved forward so her mother could hug him too. After they were crammed into the jumper, John took off for home. By now, the Lunar Festival was a lost cause.

"So, are we all okay?" Elizabeth said, standing in the middle of the Jumper making a head count.

"Uh, considering the fact that there are thirteen people on a jumper that usually holds no more than six, _I'm_ a little unnerved," Rodney said, raising a finger and standing from the seat next to John.

"Okay, besides that, is everyone else alright?" She heard a few _yeah_s, most of them from the children. "Okay then, let's get back to Atlantis." Elizabeth moved toward the front of the Jumper to tiredly sink into the co-pilot's chair that Rodney had just abandoned.

"What will we do when we get there?" Kyana was tired, but she wanted to get this over with.

"Well, we'll rest up and get washed, then we'll--" With this many people on the Jumper, she almost expected to interrupted, but it still made Elizabeth scowl when she was.

"Then we get to know our friends here," Ronon said as he put a hand on one of the bound strangers' shoulder.

"I'm ready for that rest," Jake said from a corner.

After that comment, there were only a handful of words spoken among them; and none by their three prisoners.

With that danger past, they rode off into the sunset, awaiting and dreading the day to come.

_To Be Continued. . ._


	9. Chapter 9

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 9/?

**Chapter 9**

"What time is it?" Elizabeth grumbled as she rolled over in enough time to catch her husband before he exited the room.

"Late enough for you to be up," John said as he returned to sit next to her on the bed.

"I didn't get to sleep until about eight in the morning." Elizabeth sat up and started to straighten her hair.

"Maybe, but it's five in the afternoon, that's nine hours of sleep." John said as he pointed to the alarm clock next to the bed.

"Five o'clock! There's so much that needs to be done! We need to interrogate the men we captured on the mainland last night, and investigate with the information they give us. We need to make sure that the Athosians went unharmed and I don't even want to think about what we're going to have to do to patch this up for interrupting their ceremony. And now I'm pretty much jet-lagged how am I supposed to--" Elizabeth trailed off, discouraged.

"You're not supposed to. I couldn't sleep, so I got the ball rolling. Everyone else woke up a while ago, so they're out doing stuff. I let you stay resting because I thought that you needed it more than anyone. Of course, the strangers are in detainment. I made sure that the Dexes and Jake understood that it wouldn't be best to go out for awhile; they completely understood. Jadin is in the infirmary, doing pretty good. Doc said that it would have been a quicker recovery if he could have had him in the infirmary from the beginning, but he'll be fine. Alex and Skye are still in bed asleep, they'll probably wake up just about their normal bed time (just our luck). Teyla sent word to the Athosians apologizing greatly and saying that she was alive. I thought that it wasn't best for her to fully explain until we know more, so she was vague. Uh, what else happened? Oh! Jake said that the bad guys were wandering around Atlantis for at least five days, so I had some of the techs check the cameras and all kinds of other stuff that I don't understand. Pretty much, they're trying to find out where the guys came from. So far, it's not working out too good. Uh, I don't know if you care, but I put Ronon in charge of the bad guys, at least until they wake up; which should be in an hour or so, judging by Ronon's calculations. Teyla was in charge of getting the message to the Athosians, but now that she has I think she's running odd jobs for whoever needs it. Kyana is with Jake and they're on the team trying to track our bad guys. Carson, of course, is with Jadin and the others in the infirmary. Rodney is, well, _eating_, but then he's going to see how these guys got around Atlantis without being seen, 'cause that's what seems to have happened." He sighed tiredly and ran a hand down his unshaven face. "I'm running between them and seeing what new info we have. You, I didn't put you on a job, so you can choose whatever you want once you're ready. I think that's it. Did I miss anything?" He was surprised that his only response was confusion.

"You did all of this in the nine hours?" Elizabeth was impressed.

"Yep." He remained seated on the bed while he watched his wife start to get ready.

"All by yourself?" she asked as she grabbed a red blouse from her closet.

"Yeah. So?" He was proud of himself, too.

"Without any sleep?" Elizabeth grabbed a pair of pants and moved behind the Athosian-made changing screen in the corner.

"Yeah, why do you think I'm Number Two here? I can do it! Plus, I'll be sleeping in five hours or so while the unfortunate people like yourself are awake because you can't sleep." John started to head out now that Elizabeth was about to change.

Her head bobbed around the side of the screen. "Hold on, you said that Carson was taking care of Jadin. That means that he's had the least amount of sleep out of all of us." She had just barely caught him from leaving.

"Yeah, well, you know Beckett. He can't sleep when there's work to be done," John said with a slight grin as he walked out. "Oh, right now, I'm going to go see Jake and Kyana's team has any info on our guests. See you in a little bit." John just barely got the message out before the door closed behind him. "Love you!" He yelled through the door.

Elizabeth chuckled at him and resumed dressing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How you doing, there?" Ronon hadn't got a chance to see his son since they landed on Atlantis. He was one of the people that stayed up with John, but he had been busy with the bad guys up to this point.

Jadin shrugged noncommittally. "I'm fine. Uncle Carson said that it should only be like another week until I can run on it again. How are you? I heard you didn't get to sleep." For someone so young, Jadin sure put others before himself; this made Ronon proud.

"Fine. I don't need sleep that much anyway. You sure are tough. Alex came to visit me and she--" Ronon stopped because he got a strange reaction from Jadin when he said that. Jadin seemed to be beaming with such a huge smile. "What?" Ronon asked, smiling back.

"Uh-oh. It's just Alex would be the one to visit. She always wants to know what's going on." Jadin quickly stopped smiling.

"Yeah, she's going to do great here when she's older. But, she told me about when Carson was disinfecting your leg. Jadin, he's done that to me before. He gave me pain killers and I still almost cried. How did you do that?" Ronon was proud, but almost a little scared. What his son had endured was almost unthinkable. It hurt!

"It really wasn't that bad, I mean, Alex gave me something to bite on and she was talking to me to try to get my mind off it." Jadin said this with the same smile that he had before.

"See, what's that smile?" Ronon said, pointing to Jadin.

"Nothing." Now Jadin was embarrassed and tried to change the subject.

"No, it's something. I think you have a crush."

Jadin had never seen his dad like this. He was, well, not really happy and not really curious, but something like those two put together. "No, she's just a friend and she's really nice. She's a girl, girls are weird."

Ronon wasn't falling for it. Jadin had a crush. Ronon knew that he wasn't going to get his son to confess, so he dropped it. "Okay, sure," he said as he ruffled his son's hair.

Jadin shrugged again and dipped his head a little.

"You know who you remind me of?" Ronon asked his son thoughtfully.

"Who?" Jadin was afraid that he was still on the crush thing.

"Your mom. She's so strong, yet wise, and she's a _great_ warrior." Ronon had a look of delight in his eyes that made Jadin proud of himself. But all he could seem to do was just look at his dad. He didn't know what to say.

There was a moment of silence, and he remembered something. "That's funny, she said that I remind her of you; how I'm strong, protective, a great warrior, yet so hard-headed at times." Jadin didn't know if he should add the last part or not, but he did anyway.

They both kind of chuckled at that. "See? There you go. Hard-headedness isn't bad all of the time, as long as you're right. It's good to not back down on what you believe in. Just make sure that you're right. Now, is there anything else that you need? I have to get back to work," Ronon said caringly.

Jadin shook his head. "Go beat those bad guys." He said it in the same tone that his mom used whenever Ronon left on a mission without her.

Ronon smiled, stood up, and started to walk out. He stopped and turned. "I'm proud of you, Jadin, you're a good kid. Keep it up," Ronon said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Better than Kyana?" Jadin asked hopefully. He was trying to deflect attention from himself.

"We'll see. She's a good kid, too." Ronon called this over his shoulder as he exited the room.

Jadin leaned into the mattress and closed his eyes. _He's really proud of me,_ he thought. He smiled really big, and then fell asleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How's it going?" John asked flippantly as he sauntered into the control room. There were about five or six people huddled around a screen, muttering quietly to themselves.

Jake popped his head up from the crowd and looked at John. "Not so good. We at least know that they weren't invisible the whole time. We found a clip of them going down a hallway, and then turning to an area of the city without cameras. It could even be the place that they lured me into, or a place just like it." The young lieutenant stepped away from the crowd to speak more with John. "All right, guys, take a break and get some supper," Jake called to the techs still grouped around the computer screen.

"Hey, since when do you order them around?" John was agitated and sleep-deprived, not a good combination.

"Since you put me in charge of this project, sir. Remember, you told me to head it up because I'm the only one that's really seen them." Jake was sly, but right.

"Oh, yeah, right." John swallowed back a yawn and tiredly rubbed his eyes. "No, wait, hold on. You said that they turned into and area of the city that doesn't have cameras. I thought that a place like that didn't even exist." John was willing to admit that he was wrong, but he didn't want to dwell on that fact.

"Well, it's more like an area that we turned the cameras off to conserve power. No one goes there anyway. It was abandoned. The only people even allowed there are people with a high level access pass." Jake used his hands to explain things even more than his father.

"Okay, but then how did they get those passes, and why don't we just go into the computer and see who used it?" John inquired.

"Well, that's what we wondered, so we ran some checks and it looks like they cheated the system. He did have an access card, but it was for a 'George Clooney.' The person that did it knew what they were doing. If anyone were to run a check, it wouldn't have caused suspicion. So, we got curious and ran a check to see what else our friend Mr. George Clooney has done. It seems that he's been in and out of that area, but that's about it. George Clooney is kinda a hermit. Well, not really. A disturbing thing is how many times he was in and out of that area. Within a two-hour window, he went in the same door ten times, but he didn't leave it at all." Jake saw that John was getting it, so he skipped straight to the point. "So that means that they have more than one card, and they're all going by the same name. Well, that isn't all hat bad, we still have the cameras."

Kyana walked back in the room and sat on the desk next to Jake, just in time to hear the last of what O'Neill said. "Not really, they're pretty good at avoiding the cameras. Like, they would carry something to cover their faces, or they would make sure to always have their backs to the cameras. It's impossible to tell who anyone is, except this guy." She hit a button on the keyboard, zooming in a picture of one of the captured men from the night before.

"So, all that we know of Oceans Eleven is that we don't know anything." Jake looked depressed as his shoulders slumped. He'd been so in hopes to get everything wrapped up so he could get his life back to normal.

"'Oceans Eleven?'" John questioned incredulously.

"Yeah, that was actually Kyana's idea," Jake said as he looked at Kyana with loving eyes.

"I mean, isn't it perfect?" Kyana asked, trying to defend her idea. "George Clooney and his band of minions. Plus, I don't think that Jake told you, but Rodney came in here a while back and fiddled around with some stuff. He found out that there were almost always eleven people in that room at one time. We found it strange, so he ran some more checks in the Ancient computer system and found out that the city's program is built so that when twelve or more people are in a room--like the one they were in--the lights turn on. They didn't want the lights on, because then they wouldn't be so secretive. Whoever did this knew what they were doing. They got the cards, programmed it into the system, avoided the cameras, and knew what to do from there. It was almost flawless," Kyana finished. Then she snapped her fingers and reached into her pocket to pull out an apple. She handed it to Jake with an apologetic glance. "Here, you haven't eaten all morn--since you woke up."

Jake thankfully took it and bit into the juicy fruit. "Shanks, Kmynan." His speech was distorted because his mouth was full.

"How do you know about 'Oceans Eleven'?" John pretended to ignore the disturbing part of what his niece had said.

"Jake," was all she needed to say. "We had a lot of time last night to talk about various things that, at a normal time of day in a normal situation would have seemed. . ."

"Unimportant," Jake finished for her before taking another bite of his late lunch.

John eyed the two, wondering if he was just sleep-deprived or if the whole world was suddenly going crazy. "All right, I think that you should get some supper and come back in at 7:00. That should be after we've interrogated 'Oceans Eleven,'" he couldn't think of anything better to call them, so he stuck with it. "By then we'll have more to talk about." John shook his head and left the room via the stairs, hearing Jake and Kyana talking to each other as he left.

"So, what's for supper?" Jake said as he extended his hand towards Kyana.

"Uh, spaghetti, I think. Cook's in a bad mood again." She knew that it was his favorite meal, so she was happy for him. She just hoped that the chef hadn't burned the sauce like he had a habit of doing when Atlantis was in an uproar and he didn't like it.

"Yes!" Jake unobtrusively reached out and took her hand, grinning in contentment when she didn't pull away.

Maybe things were back to normal, a little.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What's up?" John asked as he entered Rodney's lab, his next stop.

McKay was hovering over his laptop, as usual. He looked up at John's voice and scowled at the interruption. "Um, well, nothing much. I keep looking through the database, searching for some place that they were sloppy; _something_ that can tip me off to who they were." Rodney was really more or less talking to himself.

"Well, if there's anything I can do--" John attempted to scoot out, hoping to escape as soon as possible.

"Actually, I only know the basics, like some people are trying to kill the Dexes. You said that you'd tell me the rest later, well, I think that now is 'later,'" Rodney said smugly as he closed the laptop and folded his arms.

John stopped, his shoulders slumping as his escape attempt was thwarted. "Yeah, but I hope that someone would else would tell you so I wouldn't have to," he mumbled under his breath.

"Excuse me?" Rodney asked as he leaned forward.

"Is there a seat for me somewhere?" John said as he looked around the room. He knew better than to repeat himself.

"Yeah, here." Rodney pulled a stool over and John sat on it, pleased to see that his stool was higher than Rodney's.

"Okay, so, I'm just going to tell you the story. I don't care if you already know some of the parts, just listen. I'm going to make it really short, so please save any and all questions until the end." John realized that he always used a different tone when talking to Rodney. It was if he was annoyed and wanted to get it over with. _Oh well_, he thought, too tired to care at the moment.

"Ronon and Teyla were at the ceremony before we got there and they noticed that something or someone strange was in the woods. Now, sometime around that, Jake found Kyana, and led her to a hut where he could explain things. He told her to get her parents, so she did. When everyone got back, he started to explain that he was approached by men that told him that he needed to lure the Dexes into a trap. He had five days, and at that time they would target the Dexes, then Jake, then everyone that he loves. Well, as of yesterday the five days were up. Jadin and my kids were playing near the woods when Jadin got shot. Alex sent Skye to get us. I went on a search for Ronon and Teyla while Elizabeth stayed with Jadin, who, thanks to Alex, had been moved to a guard shack nearby. Carson got the med stuff from the Jumper and headed to help Jadin. I finally found Teyla, told her about Jadin, got the short version of what was going on, and we started planning how to escape. Then, I got you radioed me saying that the villagers were going crazy worrying about Teyla. That's when we decided to use that and try to distract out 'friends' with the chaos. I told you to go to the Jumper, and then got word from Elizabeth that they were surrounded by the enemy. Ronon and I were the only ones with guns, so we went to bail them out. When we got there, I split and headed for the jumper, where I met you. I think you know the rest." John looked down at his watch and was pleased to see that he said the whole story in less than five minutes. "Any questions?" John said this ever-so-nicely. _Come on, I want to get everything else done that I need to so I can go to bed!_

"All of this happened less than twenty four hours ago?" Rodney knew the answer, but couldn't believe it.

"Yep, anything else?" It astounded John too, but he wanted to get out of there.

"Yeah, if you, I mean Ronon, stunned the bad guys, then how did they set the house on fire?" Rodney pointed out.

"There were ten bad guys," John answered abruptly.

"Ten! We killed four and stunned four! We're missing two!" Rodney was mad that no one had bothered to inform him of this before.

"I know, we decided that the other two wouldn't hurt anything. They only want to kill the Dexes and Jake. They're probably trying to get off the mainland now. Now, if there isn't anything else that I can do. . ." John stood up and turned around, expecting an objection. His only response was Rodney sitting there, running through the story again; trying to think of more questions.

"One quick thing." Rodney said as he stood.

"I was almost out the door," John mumbled to himself, eyeing the doorway and wondering if he should attempt escape or stop and listen. He wisely chose the latter. "Yes?" he asked in and overly-positive tone.

"What are we supposed to do?" Rodney questioned, brow furrowed in concern.

"For now we're going to wait for our guests to wake up, interrogate them, and go from there," John said with a strange smile.

"So, you really don't know?" Rodney knew that it must be killing John to know that the bad guys were pretty much winning at this point. They couldn't find any flaws in there plan, and they even had some captured.

"That's right, I don't know. Good-bye, Rodney." As he left, he heard Rodney say something, but he ignored it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, how are they?" John asked as he approached Ronon.

"Unconscious," Ronon said gloomily.

"How much longer would you give 'em?" John was anxious to get started questioning them. He sat down next to his friend, then paused as he looked at his surroundings for the first time. "Where is this?" John knew that they were in someone's quarters, but he didn't know who's or why.

"It shouldn't be much longer. This was Teyla's and my quarters until Jadin was born and we moved to where we are now. I don't know why I came back," Ronon said as he stood and headed toward the rooms were 'Oceans Eleven' were.

"So, who do you think these guys are?" John asked, following Ronon.

"I'll don't know, but I'll tell you when I'm done interrogating," Ronon said, an unusual gleam in his eyes.

"I don't know who they are, but they knew what they were doing. Their only flaw was picking Jake." John almost had to jog to keep up with Ronon's stroll.

"No. Their mistake was picking _my family_," Ronon argued. He was so protective of his wife and kids, especially after the Kolya fiasco.

"But, how could they have gotten the name into the computer without any of the techno guys seeing them?" John was basically thinking out loud.

"Because at least one of them was a techno guy," Ronon pointed out tiredly.

"Maybe. But still, it doesn't add up. You have to put a code in to be able to just add names like that, right?" They had arrived at the hall where the rooms where Oceans Eleven were confined were. They sat on the ground, across the hall from each other, and continued to talk.

"McKay," was Ronon's response.

"What?" John didn't understand. "McKay isn't behind it!" Sheppard couldn't believe that Ronon would think that.

"_What_?" The disgruntled voice was Rodney's, and it was coming from the radio.

"Oh, you were calling him. I get it." Now John was just talking to himself.

Ronon looked at John, a cross expression on his face. The last thing he wanted was to deal with the equally cranky scientist—so he was hinting not-so-subtly.

"You want me to ask him?" John asked reluctantly.

"It's your question," Ronon pointed out as he leaned against the wall.

"What is it? I'm busy!" Rodney was getting annoyed at waiting for someone to tell him why he had been called.

"Rodney, when I walked in there five ten minutes ago, you were playing solitaire, and I haven't given you orders since! Now, wouldn't someone have to put a name or code in to add George Clooney to the database?" John almost laughed. He found humor in the circumstances even though he knew he shouldn't. They were up against Oceans Eleven, led by George Clooney, and none of it was supposed to be funny.

Maybe he was just sleep-deprived. Yeah, that had to be it.

"Yes, you would, and if one of the idiot techs had left it on his name when going on lunch break, all they would have to have done was just type in their name," Rodney said it with such a rude tone that John knew he was still upset about being left out of the loop.

"That answers it, thank you," John said, and then ended contact. "Never mind, it didn't work out," John said as he looked up at his friend.

Ronon had his head leaned back against the wall, his eyes closed. He was asleep.

"Great! So what am I supposed to do now? If I stay, then it could be awkward when he wakes up, and I'll be bored. If I leave, then he'll wake up alone and that could be weird too. Maybe I should make a noise and try to wake him up without him knowing I did it?" John wanted company, even if it was himself. He lifted his foot up, planning to drop it, making just a loud enough noise.

"I'm awake," Ronon said abruptly as he adjusted to a more comfortable seated position. His eyes were still closed.

"Oh, and what are the chances that you were asleep a minute ago when I was talking to myself?" John squirmed with unease.

"Slim," Ronon said unsympathetically as he opened his eyes, smiling wickedly.

"Oh . . ." John felt embarrassed, and was trying to come up with a way to change the subject when he was thankfully interrupted.

"Sir, the first one's up," said one of the guards.

"What do we do now?" Ronon looked to John, looking impatient to get started on the questioning.

"We get everyone from last night together and agree on something." John meant it as a command, but he added a questioning tone, as if he was seeking approval.

"Okay. Stay in contact," Ronon said to the guard as he rose with John.

"Okay . . . sir." The guard was confused what he was to say to non-military leaders. John gave him a nod of approval and with that, he and Ronon left for Elizabeth's office.

As they walked through Atlantis's halls, John hit the button on his radio. "Any adult that was on the mainland last night, we meet in Elizabeth's office in ten minutes. That's Teyla, Kyana, Jake, Elizabeth, Rodney, Carson, Ronon, and me; Elizabeth's office, ten minutes. If anyone has a problem with that, then respond now." John liked the feeling of being in charge.

"Why everyone?" Ronon asked as they went through a doorway.

"So we can decide who to interrogate. Then, we'll put all of our info together and see what we know. That way, whoever walks into the interrogation room will know what they're talking about. Allow me." John said as he motioned for the door ahead of them to open.

"Sounds like a good plan," was just about the best complement that Ronon could get out. The _I guess_ was more like an unspoken add-on at the end.

"Thanks, I'm rather fond of it myself," John said with a proud smile.

"Uh, I don't think I can make it. I have a lot of work here," voiced Carson over the radio.

"Can you keep your radio open for questions?" John stopped to ask. They were at the bottom of the steps to the control room.

"Aye, I should be able to," the Scotsman replied.

"Okay, deal." John started up the stairs, looking through the glass window to see Elizabeth in her office. She cradled a cup of coffee in her hands, sipping on it as she gazed unseeingly at her computer screen.

"Let's get this party started," John said to himself. He was trying to use humor to cover it up, but he knew this couldn't end well. Even if they busted the perpetrators, this whole fiasco showed clearly how easy it was to cheat the system. They were weaker than they thought. No, this was not going to be a good day.

_To Be Continued. . ._


	10. Chapter 10

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 10/11

**Chapter 10**

Rodney entered Elizabeth's office to find everyone else was already there. Jake was with John and Elizabeth; Elizabeth was in her chair, and the other two were sitting on her desk on either side of her. Kyana was with her family; they were standing in the far corner of the room talking and smiling.

"You're late." Ronon greeted him with. He was the first to notice McKay since he had the best view of the door.

"He said 'ten minutes', so I finished what I was doing and headed over. How long have you been here?" Rodney never realized that he was supposed to head right over, he just thought that 'ten minutes' was a guess at when they would all be there.

"It doesn't matter. Let's get this party started," John said as he slapped the desk, swung his legs, then stood up and walked to the middle of the room. He looked over to Elizabeth, as if asking her to join him.

The petite diplomat held up her hands and shook her head, a smile ghosting her lips. "You got this. You've handled it so far, keep it up." She knew that it would make him happy. She was right; John was truly pleased.

"Okay, then, who do we want to send in to interrogate our first man? I think that Jake should definitely go in there," John said looking at the young Air Force officer.

Jake somewhat nodded, looking excited and nervous at the same time.

"Anyone have a problem with that?" John looked to Ronon, expecting even a slight objection, but got none. "Alrighty, who's next? Who's goin' in with him?" John decided to leave it up to the others to decide, since they would be the ones to go.

"Hold on, what are we going to do here, good cop/bad cop or something?" Jake questioned in a military tone.

"I guess. Ronon, do you wanna be bad cop?" John assumed he would say yes.

"Why don't you think that I can be bad cop, sir?" Jake found the comment rather offensive.

"I don't know, I just never pegged you as the bad-cop type." He was trying to back pedal.

"No, he can definitely be bad cop. Let him have it." Everyone turned to see who said that. It sounded like Ronon, but they didn't think he would say that. Sure enough, it was him.

John shook his head in surprise. "Okay, who's good cop? Maybe Kyana, she hasn't done anything, like this before; I think she'd like it." John wasn't lying, but the main reason that he suggested her to do it was that he knew they needed some time together without her parents. This was the best thing that he could think of to make that work.

"Okay, that'd work. Hold on, does anyone else want to do it?" Kyana was excited. She liked this sort of stuff.

No one else offered.

"Okay, then we have our first team. Now, if another guy wakes up soon, we'll go with Ronon and Teyla for him. After those two, we'll go from there. Sound good?" He got a simultaneous nod from Ronon and Teyla and then nods from the others.

"I have a question." Rodney said form the doorway.

"Yes, I don't know what I'm doing, yet. Hang tight and we'll see if we can find you anything." John just _knew_ what Rodney was going to say, and he was right.

"Okay. Fine, I'll put my actual work aside so that I can sit and twiddle my thumbs for you." Rodney said sarcastically.

"Thank you, that's all I ask." John said with a smirk.

"So, what else are we here for, sir? With all due respect, we could've done this part over the radio." Jake said, now standing next to Kyana. Ronon and Teyla were closer to Elizabeth now.

"Now we see what info we have on 'em."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Jake, you said that they're from here. They seem to be able to walk around wherever they want without being noticed." Jake nodded. "We also know that they aren't the best shots. The best guess that we can get is that they shot Jadin when one of them tripped. So, either they don't have any military, or they have so few that they have to take scientist, too. No offense, Rodney." John looked over at Rodney who was zoned into his computer screen.

"What?" McKay looked up and blinked owlishly. "Oh, none taken." He said before going right back to the computer.

"Okay, we really don't know how many people they have. Hang on; are there any people in the Oceans Eleven room right now?" John questioned as he looked at Rodney, who was not responding. "_Rodney!_" John said as he jerked Rodney's computer out of his hands.

"_What?_" Rodney demanded as he grabbed it back.

"Are there any people in the Ocean's Eleven room right now?" John asked Rodney, not believing that he had let it slip before.

"Uh, yeah, but just the people that Jake sent to check it out." Rodney said as he tapped away on the screen.

"Nice" John said; looking at Jake with a look that showed how impressed he was.

"Thank you, sir," the young man replied with a hint of pride.

"So, are they searching for evidence, too?" John asked Jake.

"Yes, but they should still be a while. They said that it isn't going good so far, but they're working on it." Jake moved closer to the center of the office, Kyana close behind him.

"Nice. Rodney, new job. Make sure that no one besides no one that we don't know of goes in or out of that room." John spoke to the top of Rodney's head.

Rodney was still unresponsive.

"Rodney, put that thing down!" John shouted as he seized Rodney's computer and put it on Elizabeth's desk, out of the astrophysicist's reach.

"I heard you. I'm supposed to monitor the room to make sure that no on comes or goes that we don't know of. I get it!" he said as he stood up. "Now, you really don't need me, so can I go to my lab and actually do my job? I'll be monitoring them the whole time." Rodney was making such a great point and using such a persuading tone that John acquiesced.

After he left, those remaining continued to talk about what they knew, but didn't really cover anymore information than what John had already told Rodney earlier.

"Okay, we aren't covering anything new. Let's just spread out; you guys know what to do. Jake, you and Kyana can go ahead and head to interrogation room one. They'll be waiting for you." He paused and turned to face his alien teammates. "Ronon and Teyla, you got the next ones. We'll keep in touch via radio to see who's going to interview the other two. After that, we'll meet back up and see what we've got," John said as he walked over and sat on Elizabeth's desk. Jake and Kyana left first, followed by Kyana's parents.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, what am I supposed to do here?" Kyana said as soon as she felt they were alone.

"Well, it's a pretty long walk to the interrogation room that we're going to, but once we get there, you'll be fine," he assured her as they rounded their first corner.

"No, _really_. What do I do? I've never done this before," she said innocently.

"Yes you have, you just don't know it. See, you're good at this stuff. You always have been. Do you remember the time that I was hiding something from you and you were trying to get it out of me?" he questioned.

Kyana thought a moment. "No." They looked into each other's eyes. He saw apprehension in hers. She saw confidence in his.

"That's because it never happened. You always get me to spill my guts to you before I even know that I am," he said as they rounded a corner and stopped. His voice changed. Now it was more like he was giving her a pep-talk.

"Two things: (1) You only told me those things because you liked me, and, (2) What are you going to do in this?" She hadn't really realized that they had stopped.

"Okay, maybe, but you're good at figuring out what you need to know. So am I. That's why we're going to make a good team. Just remember that you're the good cop. You be your mom; I'll be your dad. That'll be our mind-set." He said as he walked over and leaned against the wall next to her.

"Where's the interrogation going to be at?" she asked, moving a little closer to him.

"You ended that sentence with a preposition. And, it's going to be in pretty much the farthest one from here." Jake slid down the wall, brought his legs up to his chest, and rested his head on his upraised knees. "Aye. So little sleep. So much work. This is not what I signed up for when I joined the Air Force!" he mumbled to his knees.

"Come on, your mom is Sam Carter; your dad is Jack O'Neill. Saying that you weren't prepared is a cop-out." Kyana joined him on the floor, nudging his shoulder with hers as she did so. She hadn't known how tired she was until she felt the relief of rest.

"Maybe. But still, I'm _tired_!" He lifted his head up and rested it against the wall.

Kyana leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. They sat there peacefully like that for a minute, content to enjoy the silence and being together.

Finally she sighed and opened her eyes. "We need to get going. We were supposed to be there awhile ago," she said, looking around without lifting her head.

There wasn't a response for awhile. She was beginning to think that he was asleep. Then, "I missed you, Kya." Jake spoke with such a low tone that she almost missed his words.

"What do you mean? I haven't left in a while." She knew what he meant, but she needed to hear it from him.

"No, when _I_ was gone. Shoot, since I've seen you, too. I just miss our time alone together like this. When we just sit and talk. This right here, this it's the stuff that I first think of when I wake up in the morning: looking forward to maybe just running into you in the hall. I guess what I'm trying to say is-" He paused and extended his legs. Now, he was looking into Kyana's eyes. He grabbed her hand and held it firmly. "I love you, Kya. I-I-" He stopped, stammered around for a minute, then looked at her helplessly.

"I love you too!" she said as she jumped into his arms. "I love you too, Jake." She wanted to hug him and hit him: Hug him because he finally said it, but hit him because he took so long.

They stayed like that for awhile. They could both tell how weak the other was. At this moment, they really needed each other, and that made them doubly glad that they had the other.

At last Kyana sighed pulled back a little so they were face to face. Their noses were so close that they were barely separate. "Do you remember Valentine's Day?" she asked, absently moving her wrist so her bracelet caught the light and glistened.

"Yes, of course. How could I forget?" he asked, confused.

"You are so good to me, Jake," she said, and then she moved in closer and kissed him.

In that single, glorious moment, they forgot how tired and stressed they were. They were just content to be together.

Kyana's brain caught up with her motions, and she pulled away a second later. "Sorry. I just-" She looked at the ground, afraid that he didn't feel the same for her. Even though he'd said that he loved her, there was still that little worm of doubt.

"Please, don't apologize," he said before leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. He was so glad that she had kissed him. At least he knew that she felt the same for him.

Kyana looked up and realized they were still sitting on the floor in the hall. "I hope that no one saw us," Kyana said, a little nervous. The last thing she wanted was to be the object of the rumor mill's attention. She wanted a little time alone with Jake to explore their relationship before they actually confirmed or denied that they were in one.

"Of course they didn't. No one ever comes down these halls. We're fine," Jake assured her, lost in her vibrant green eyes. Every time that he looked into her eyes, he saw something. He saw something more beautiful than anything that he'd ever seen before. _He really loved this woman._

"Are you guys okay?" questioned a familiar voice from behind them. There was the slightest hint of amusement in that tone that made both wince guiltily.

"Yes, Mom, we're fine," Kyana said as she snapped her head away from Jake and stood like she'd been launched from a spring. Her dad was the next person that she saw, and he didn't look too happy.

"What are you two doing? You should've been in the interrogation room five minutes ago." He arched an eyebrow and went to stand next to his wife.

By now, Jake had come to stand at Kyana's right shoulder. "Yes sir, I'm sorry. Uh -- I wasn't feeling the greatest so uh -- we stopped for a moment so I could rest." It was obvious that he was lying. Kyana was afraid her father would questioning him further, but he let just nodded and changed the subject.

"Okay, just get down there. The next guy is already up." Ronon started walking away, followed closely by Teyla.

Kyana was just starting to breathe easier when her mother turned and smiled at her. There was a knowing, wicked gleam in her eyes as she turned back around and looped her arm through her husband's.

_How does she _always_ know? _Kyana almost felt like her privacy was invaded. Why did mothers always have to be able to read their daughters like open books? _At least Dad won't ever find out. _

"Okay, let's get out of here." Jake, obviously as unsettled as she, took her hand and together they walked away.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I keep telling you, I'm just the new guy! I don't know anything! This was my first mission. It's what I was recruited for." Smith was acting very timid, obviously scared out of his wits.

So far, Ronon and Teyla had only learned his name and the fact that he was new. Dex thought that he was only pretending to be scared so that they would leave him alone. He was only lamenting the fact that he didn't have his blaster – that would have sped things up a bit.

"Smith! Just tell me how you got into the group! That's all that I want to know!" Ronon growled as he watched the horror in Smith's face. Surely the man would crack soon.

"Ronon!" Teyla reprimanded, one eyebrow arched. She turned to Smith and softened her voice. "Mr. Smith, I'm sorry that Ronon is being so rude. We just need to know what you know. What do you call this organization?" Teyla decided to start off small and work her way up.

"Ocean's Eleven," Smith replied in a calm voice.

That threw Teyla off. "Why?" she asked so nicely that it almost nauseated her.

"Well, as you know, our leader's name is George Clooney. Plus, it started off with eleven people, but that was _way_ before I joined." He wasn't lying, and they could tell.

"How long has this organization been going on?" she asked as she sat down across the table from him. Ronon continued to pace behind her like a big cat waiting to pounce. There was a dark, impatient gleam in his eyes that made Smith gulp noticeably.

"Long enough that they know what they're doing. I'd say a year or so." The words tumbled from his mouth like a waterfall – he was starting to get nervous.

That shocked Ronon and Teyla. It was hard to imagine that these men had gone undetected for so _long_.

"I don't believe you," Ronon said as he put his hands on the table in front of Smith and leaned in. He narrowed his eyes predatorily.

"I'm telling you the truth!" Smith said to Teyla, looking for protection.

"Look at me! How could you possibly get around without us finding you?" Dex asked, leaning in even closer.

"We have our ways," Smith said as he dropped the scared expression, and looked at Ronon with certain cockiness.

"What are they?" Ronon responded, his voice a growl.

Smith didn't answer. He just sat there with his arms crossed, looking self-satisfied.

"Mr. Smith, I'm sorry, but we need to know. We hear that the rest of the group is tracking you down. We need to know how the get around so that we can stop them from getting to you. They want to kill you before you tell us anything." Teyla made her tone as cajoling as she could.

"Okay." Smith gave in. "We have guys on the inside, but we just lost our guy in charge of SF's. All that you need to do is put me in a holding room; they shouldn't be able to get past the guards unnoticed," Smith said, his eyes shifting between Ronon and Teyla.

Ronon pushed off the table. "What are their names?" he questioned as he went back to pacing.

"I don't know. They didn't trust me with any more than their code names. I promise, I just told you all that I know." Smith was now pleading to Teyla.

"How did you get the Jumper to go to the mainland?" Ronon barked without breaking stride.

"I don't know, I was just informed when to show up. I promise, I don't know any more."

They continued at this pace for awhile longer, but nothing more was accomplished. Ronon and Teyla continued to ask questions, and Smith continued to deny knowing anything more.

Finally, they all left. Smith went to his holding room, and Ronon and Teyla went to report to John, feeling tired and frustrated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh, look, they aren't dead after all," Elizabeth playfully said to John as their children entered her office.

"Well, looky there, you're right," John responded as he walked over to greet them. "To what do we owe this pleasure?" he asked Skye, who was still rubbing his eyes.

"We want to see Jadin," Alex said as she crowded past her brother. She gave him a sharp jab in the ribs with her elbow and a glare to get him to move.

"All right, then. It looks like we still have some time before we're needed; let's all go down together," Elizabeth said as she stood and headed to the door; her family close behind. She had wanted to go earlier to check on her nephew, but there had been far too many things going on to give her a moment's reprieve to do so.

"Why did you guys come up to ask us to go? You could've gone by yourself. You're just going to see your friend," John said to Skye, since Alex was ahead with her mother. They were walking in pairs of two.

Skye hesitated, then bit his lip and said: "Well, we did and Uncle Carson told us 'no.' Alex said that Jadin should be feeling better, so we figured that you could help us out." Skye spoke slowly, selecting his words very carefully.

"You wanted us to get you in. You knew that we would talk Carson into letting you guys in. Hmm, sly. I like it." John held out his hand for a high five.

"So, we're not in trouble?" Skye whispered, sending a quick glance in his mother's direction.

"No, just don't tell your mom. Oh—hey honey, it's nothing . . . Hey! We're here!" Elizabeth was always good at picking up whispers. John knew that she heard his advice to her son.

She gave John a disapproving look, but didn't press the issue. They all entered the infirmary, surprised to find Carson waiting for them by the door.

"Hello." The Scot glanced at the children only a moment before directing his next comment to John and Elizabeth. "He just woke up, so you can see him now." It was obvious that Carson was bored; otherwise he wouldn't be so happy to see them invading his infirmary. Then again, it might have been the four cups of coffee in the past hour; oh well.

"Ha-ha, you don't need or want us here now," John directed to his children, the smile on his face lessening the impact of his joking words. "Well, it's too late now. We're staying. That's your punishment for trying to use us to go behind your Uncle Carson's back."

Skye murmured something under his breath before walking across the room and sticking his head around the curtain closing off Jadin's cubicle from the rest of the infirmary. "Hey, man, how are you doing?" Skye asked, since he was the first to enter.

"Yeah, how are you doing?" Alex said from right behind her brother.

"Hey, Alex! I'm doing good enough, how are you?" Jadin was oblivious to the fact that there were now three other people besides Alex in the room. His eyes were focused on the Sheppard girl.

"What about me?" spoke Skye in mock anger.

"Oh, sorry; didn't see you. How are you?" Jadin jumped a little and turned his gaze to his other friend. It was obvious that something was bothering him.

"I'm good, but I'm not the one who was shot." Skye went to stand next to his friend, resting his arms on the railing.

"Is there anything that you need?" asked Jadin's Aunt Elizabeth from her position at the back of the cubicle next to John.

"No, Uncle Carson is giving me more than enough of everything," Jadin replied with a little laugh.

"Yeah, I'm here," John suddenly said to no one.

All eyes questioningly went to him, except for Elizabeth. "Sorry, your mom radioed him. They're done interviewing and ready for their next orders," Elizabeth said to Jadin to ease his curiosity.

"Yeah, okay. Um . . . hang on." John said, looking to Elizabeth. "Should I just tell them to hang tight until Kyana and Jake are done? Is there anything else that they can do?" John asked his wife.

"Yes, that's all that they can do for now." Two faint lines of concern appeared on Elizabeth's forehead, but she said nothing that would alert the kids of her unsettled feelings.

John gave his wife a worried glance before relaying the information. He turned back to talk to Jadin, but was interrupted when he was radioed again.

"Sir, this is the team that's been checking out the Ocean's Eleven room out. We've got nothing." Captain Miller sounded frustrated.

"I'm on my way. Hang tight." John turned to the others. "I'm so sorry, I gotta go. Get better Jadin, I'll check in later." He turned to leave.

"Wait! Dad! Can I come?" Skye called as he chased after his father.

"Sure, come on!" He caught the look on Elizabeth's face and gave her a reassuring smile. "It'll be okay, Elizabeth, it's an empty room. It's safe!" He predicted his wife would be against it, and he was right.

Unfortunately for her, he _was_ right. She let the two leave. Alex looked back at her mom, who wasn't even paying any attention to the two of them. She looked like her mind was far away – probably off with her husband and son.

Alex walked over closer to the bed. "Hey, now, stop being all manly. How are you, really?" she asked caringly.

"_Really_, I'm okay. It hurt, but it's over." He wasn't lying; but still, he wouldn't tell her if he was. A thought struck him. "Listen, I don't think that I've gotten a chance to thank you for dragging me into the hut and making me a cot. It was pretty cool."

There was something about him; either the tone in his voice, or the look on his face, but he seemed different to Alex. She didn't see him as the brash young boy that she used to play with. This accident had changed him.

Alex shook her head decided to ignore that change, at least for now. "I know. You're heavy!" she chuckled, and he laughed with her. There was a slight pause.

"So, do you want to see it?" He said, looking down at his leg.

"Yeah!" She loved this kind of stuff.

"No you don't," Carson said as he entered the room. "Sorry, he needs to leave it on for awhile. You can see it later. I'm going to have to ask you to leave," he said as he walked over and checked Jadin's blood pressure.

"Come on, we just got here! Let me stay," Alex begged, pulling out her dad's kicked-puppy dog expression and coupling it with a cute pout that usually got everyone to give in to her.

Not Carson. "No, trust me, you don't wanna see this!" The Scot assured her, making little shooing motions in her direction.

Dejected, Alex followed her mother out of the infirmary.

"So, you must be hungry. You haven't eaten in a long time. Let's go get something out of the cafeteria," Elizabeth suggested gently in an attempt to cheer her daughter.

"Sure!" Alex said, more than willing to cooperate. She took off running, her gentle laugh floating back towards her mother.

Elizabeth took a deep breath and started to chase her daughter. "Just try and get away!" she called ahead, smiling at the startled looks on the faces of the scientists she passed.

She loved being a mother.

_To Be Continued . . . _


	11. Chapter 11

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 11/12

**Chapter 11**

"So, it's Mr. Taylor, right?" Kyana asked as she paced back and forth in front of the interrogation table.

Mr. Taylor sat in one of the two chairs, hands clasped in front of him and gaze on her. "Yes, and you can threaten me all you want I won't tell you anything. I know that the only reason you're here is to get me to spill all that I know. I won't tell you a thing." There was something in his eye that told Kyana that he didn't mean what he said. Perhaps it was some sixth sense, or just common sense. Either way, she knew that all villains had a weak point that, if pressed hard enough, would break. She planned to find that.

Kyana walked over and sat in the chair across from Taylor. "Is there something wrong?" she whispered. She took sharp note of the sweat beginning to bead Taylor's forehead.

His gaze darted between Kyana and Jake, who was hovering near the back of the room. Uncertainty flickered in his eyes.

"Answer her!" Jake barked, and Kyana heard the impatience in his tone.

"Yes, something's wrong! You aren't going to get anything out of me and you're wasting my napping time." He yelled back at Jake then looked at Kyana with a scared expression. He was beginning to weaken.

"How?" she whispered as she stood up again.

"They've tapped into the computers. They watch everything." He replied inconspicuously. He was sly.

Kyana walked over to Jake and turned her back to the camera. She pursed her lips for a moment, thinking. "They've tapped into the system. They're watching us. That means he won't spill anything as long as he knows the camera's running." Frustration welled up inside her. She felt like she was so close!

"Give me five minutes. I know how to cause a 'technical difficulty' that'll have this room down for an hour or so." Jake gave her a crooked grin and flicked his eyes briefly up to the camera.

"How?" Kyana was curious where he got all of his skills.

"I nearly crashed the entire SGC mainframe when I was thirteen – purely by accident, I assure you. I can do the same thing again easily here, just on a smaller and more specific scale. It's a talent." He shrugged a little, grinned again, and started to walk away. But he paused and came back to say: "Oh! Just stay here, put on a good show, and I'll be back soon with a tape recorder that they can't tap into. I might take a minute to get it cleared, though. Give me ten minutes, do you think that you can do that?" he knew what needed to be done and he wanted to do it.

Kyana held up her hands. "You're so stubborn. Yes, fine. I got it taken care of. Just go." She watched Jake leave, wondering what she could possibly talk to Taylor about for ten minutes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake exited the interrogation room to see that John was looking through the one-way mirror. His hands were in his pockets, and he looked interested. He turned when the door closed behind Jake.

"What are you doing?" they said simultaneously when they saw each other.

"I'm checking on you; your turn," John said. He looked tired.

"Okay, sir. Ocean's Eleven has tapped into our cameras: they're spying on us. Taylor doesn't want them to know that he's getting ready to spill the whole thing. So, I came out to ask for permission to blow this room's system then just use a tape recorder. I think he'll spill then," Jake explained, all the time watching Kyana.

"Okay, do it," John replied after a minute of thinking.

"Good! Thank you, sir! Can I have your radio? If I ask Rodney to- wait. I have _my own_ radio. Never mind, sir!" Jake took off running.

"Wait!" John yelled to him.

"Sir?" Jake stopped, turned, and yelled back.

"Were you really coming out to ask my permission, or were you just going to do it whether I know it or not?" John asked, a certain gleam in his eyes.

"I think you know, sir," Jake said and grinned a little. He pivoted and ran again.

"What's that supposed to mean?" John asked himself. He shrugged it off, and went back to observing Kyana and Taylor.

"Rodney, fry the camera circuit to interrogation room two, try to make it look like an accident, and monitor to see if anyone tries to fix it," Jake said into his radio before he even knew if Rodney was listening.

"Oh! Sure! Would you like to pull a rabbit out of my ear while I'm at it?" was McKay's sarcastic response.

"Thank you, Doctor McKay; I know you can do it. And did I mention you have two minutes? Thanks again!" Jake said as he entered the storage room and started looking for a tape recorder.

"But that's impossible! I'd have to--" Rodney tried to explain.

"Good, you have a plan! Thank you!" Jake said then turned his radio off for the moment. He got the recorder, then headed to the closest control observation room. The camera was down.

The young officer turned his radio back on. "Thank you, Rodney, I knew you could do it. Now, please monitor the control rooms to see who tries to fix it." He switched channels on his radio. "Samuels, are you listening in?" Jake asked an SF that he trusted.

"Yes, why?" Samuels questioned, sounding bored.

"Scramble a team of five and stand by for Rodney's word to go get whoever tries to fix the camera." Jake was headed back to the interrogation room by now, recorder in hand.

"You didn't ask for all of this," John invaded the conversation to point out.

"With all due respect, you put me in charge of this, sir. So, really, asking permission was just a formality," Jake replied.

A slow, reluctant smile curled up the corner of Sheppard's mouth. "Fine, and good thinking, having just the essential people on our radio frequency. They're probably tapping into that, too."

"Thank you, sir" Jake said to John as he entered the observation room, startling him.

"Wow, didn't expect you back this soon. It's only been three minutes." John showed Jake his watch: he'd set it on 'stopwatch.'

"Thank you, Colonel. How's Kyana doing?" Jake followed Sheppard's gaze in time to see Kyana turn toward the window and discreetly rub her forehead, signaling either frustration or a headache – perhaps both.

"Good, she's just been stalling. She's good at this, though!" John stated.

"Yes sir, I know. She's pretty near perfect," Jake said, then entered the interrogation room. He put the recorder down on the table and leaned over to speak directly to Taylor. "Okay, I've disconnected the camera and the microphones. The only people that can hear you are me, her, and whoever listens to this tape." Jake looked over at Kyana as if for a rewarding smile. He got it.

"Okay, but I'm still going to tell you guys nothing. Why would I want to go behind the backs of my friends?" Taylor asked.

Kyana arched a brow and sent Jake a _See what I've had to deal with?_ look.

"Because they aren't your friends. They were _spying_ on you so they'd know whether or not to kill you," Jake said curtly. Perhaps that had been a little harsh, but far too true. He knew on a very uncomfortable level what that was like.

"Mr. Taylor, who are your 'friends'?" Kyana asked innocently.

Taylor still seemed stubbornly set in his ways. Apparently time had done nothing but bolster his self-confidence. "I'm not going to say. My name is Taylor, and the guy that you just interviewed is named Smith. That's all that you need to know."

Kyana was getting frustrated; Jake could see it in her eyes. She paced firmly across the room and sat in the chair across the table from Taylor. She nonchalantly picked up the recorder and hit the 'stop' button to make it stop recording. Then, she turned and looked at Jake, who was gave her a look of confusion. She winked and put the recorder on the floor. Then she hit 'record' again. "Okay, I've turned it off so that we can talk privately," she said.

Taylor suspiciously bent down and looked at the recorder on the floor. Kyana was surreptitiously blocking the button so as to deceive him.

Jake couldn't believe what he was seeing. _I hope she knows what she's doing._

"Mr. Taylor, we already know that you all have code names, and we know that Taylor is yours. We know all of the answers to these questions. The only reason that we're asking is that – well, we can offer you rewards for your answers. The more you tell us, even though we already know the answers, the more we can trust you," Kyana said with a commanding tone.

Taylor narrowed his eyes. "Why? Why do you need me then? It doesn't make any sense. Why don't you just throw me back in jail?" he asked.

"That's just it. We _don't_ need you. It's just that we don't want to send you to prison for life if we don't have to. It's obvious that you're a smart man. We need people like you on Atlantis to help us. If you give us the answers that we need, you'll probably be back to your old job after a while. Otherwise, we'll just bust you with the information that we already have and forget the fact we ever knew you," she said. She shrugged, acting unaffected.

Jake raised an eyebrow and smothered a smile. _I think I know where she's going with this. Kya, I just might have to marry you._

"So you already know all of this stuff and just want me to tell you so that I can get off free?" he said to clarify.

"Kyana, why are you telling him this?" Jake said as if he was almost mad at her. He walked behind Taylor so that he was across the table from her.

Kyana looked up in time to catch a wink from Jake. She forced her mask not to quiver, but Jake could see the warmth in her eyes. She played along. "Jake, this is a good man; he deserves to know what's going on. He's one of our leading scientists; we might as well help him out. I know it sounds strange, but that's how this works. It's the military side of things keep the best no matter what. Right?" Kyana arched a brow at him.

"Kyana, a word?" Jake said as he gestured to the corner of the room.

She shot Taylor an unreadable look and got to her feet. "Sure."

They walked over and Jake looked to see what Taylor was doing. His heart nearly stopped. "He's looking at the recorder," Jake breathed in a low tone.

"It's okay. I turned it off as I stood up. I figured he'd look." She smiled innocently at him.

"Gosh, how did you get so good at this?" Jake wasn't sure whether to be exasperated or proud. "Never mind, that was rhetoric. How did you know that he was a scientist? That was risky."

"I could tell that he wasn't military, his eyes gave it away. I also knew that OE—"

"OE?" Jake interrupted, brain struggling to comprehend.

"Well, it's shorter than 'Ocean's Eleven.'" Kyana bit her lip. "I knew they would only care about people crucial to this organization. That leaves it to linguists; have you heard the way he talks? No one that had such a knowledge of languages would use it like that. The only thing left were the scientists. Anything else?" she questioned, a grin flickering across her lips.

Jake wanted to kiss her. "No, it's all yours," he said as he pulled her chair out for her. She mouthed 'thank you' to him as he turned away. He nodded.

"With your permission, I would like to turn the recorder on now." Kyana said nicely to Taylor.

"Fine." The word seemed carved from ice.

"So, how do you want to do this?" Kyana asked him, matching his tone exactly.

Taylor regarded her silently for a moment; turned to Jake; then looked back at her. He was breaking. "Okay, fine. I'll tell you. _But_, I want protection to be my _first _reward, _and_ I want to be able to bargain for my others." He leaned forward for a dramatic effect.

Kyana leaned forward as well to match the growing intensity. "Deal. Who's in OE?"

"I'll give you a list. I can't get you into the system, but I'll tell you who can," Taylor said with confidence.

"Is there anyone high-up in the organization?" Kyana asked with authority, not relaxing her pose even though Taylor had.

"No one that you know. We like to keep a – how should I say this? – _low profile_," Taylor responded.

"What is the purpose of OE? Good job on the low profile, by the way," Kyana said sarcastically.

"We make sure that the leaders around here make the best decisions," he responded rudely, glaring daggers at her.

"What is that supposed to mean? If you don't agree with every decision, you break something?" she asked.

"I guess that's one way to put it. Everything looks different when you change the perspective," Taylor said as he lounged back in his chair.

Kyana wasn't ready to let that one go. "How long has the OE been around?" Her voice was razor sharp.

Taylor smirked a little. "Long enough. I've been a part of it for a couple years, but I joined well into it. I would say three to four years." He crossed his legs and sighed.

"But this is the first time we've noticed anything." Kyana looked as disturbed as Jake felt.

"This was our coming-out missions. Before that, we used our sources to control certain situations." Taylor was trying deliberately to be vague.

"How do you get around things?" Kyana asked.

"As I said, we have our sources." Taylor was beginning to sound impatient.

"Who is your leader?" Kyana leaned in to ask.

Taylor returned the favor, a lascivious smile on his face. "That, my darling . . ." he started to lean in more.

_Okay, that's enough. _Jake took a step forward and leaned into table. "Kyana, would you like to take a break?" he asked. A pointed glare in Taylor's direction made the man back off.

"Sure, thanks." Kyana looked more mad than scared as stood and exited the room.

Jake turned and smiled at Taylor. _This_ was going to be fun.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kyana let out her breath as the interrogation room door slipped shut behind her. It felt like she hadn't slept in a week. Her whole body ached, and she was sure that slightly smoky smell was her hair. She longed for a hot shower, a cup of Athosian tea, and then her warm bed so she could sleep for a month.

She looked up and nearly jumped. "Oh, hey Uncle John. I didn't know you were here," she said to Sheppard.

John smiled a little. "Just came to see how you and Lieutenant O'Neill are doing. You're doing _really_ good," he said as he turned to her.

Kyana tipped her head to the side a little and narrowed her eyes, confused. "How do you know? Jake disconnected the mikes." She stepped up next to John and gazed through the window, watching Jake with fascination.

"Jake forgot and left his radio on. All of us have been listening in. I was going to tell him to turn it off, but I found it – interesting."

Kyana gave him a strange look. "If you say so. What's he talking about now?" she asked, her attention focused solely on her uncle.

"He's telling Taylor to be careful in choosing what he does. He's referring to your – ah – _close encounter_."

Kyana could tell that John knew about her and Jake despite the fact that they'd only told her family and his. Secrets never stayed that way long on Atlantis. "Oh. Are you sure that I've been doing good? I don't feel like I know anything more." Kyana felt oddly let-down.

"Well, we have to go back over the tape, but you're getting all kinds of information. It's always hard to know how good you're doing while you're in the room." John smiled kindly at her, then turned his attention back to the interrogation. "But from out here, it looked like he couldn't wait to spill his guts to you."

Kyana was grateful that John wanted her to feel that she was doing good. She looked in the window to watch Jake.

Jake waved his hand and then gestured them with a military signal.

Kyana blinked. She thought she knew all the military hand signals, but that one she wasn't familiar with. "What did he say? I don't recognize that." She knew Sheppard would know even if she didn't.

"He asked for a glass of water," John said with a smile.

"I'll get it. I wanted one anyway. Bye, Uncle John," Kyana said as she turned to leave.

"Hurry!" John called after her. Kyana took off running.

When she returned, John told her that Jake hadn't accomplished anything more.

Slightly frustrated at this news, she walked into the room and handed both men a glass of water, then drank out of her own.

Jake took a drink and then spoke again. "Okay. You won't tell us anything else, so we'll end it at this. Once you leave here, you'll go straight to a separate room where you will sit down with a man and tell them who is in on this. After that, we'll work on your rewards. If there's anything else that you want to tell us, we're all ears," Jake finished then paused a moment. No one said anything. "Okay then, out we go." He said as he walked over to the door and opened it.

John, waiting for just this moment, came in. He securely took Taylor by the arm and walked off with him, leaving Jake and Kyana in the room alone. She didn't miss the smile and wink Sheppard gave her over his shoulder as he left. It made her smile.

Kyana walked over and turned the recorder off. Then she sidled over to Jake and turned his radio off. "You had it on ever since you got back," she said, laughing a little.

"Ha." Jake looked disgruntled as he eyed her. Then he smiled, and his blue eyes warmed. "You did great!" he said as he sat on the table.

Kyana walked over to him and sat down, leaning into the arm he put around her shoulders. "Really?" she asked, uncertain still.

"You totally bluffed and he totally bought it. That was art!" Jake said proudly, hugging her tightly to him.

Kyana finally allowed herself to smile. "Thanks, Jake. What time is it?" She asked, smothering a yawn.

"Eleven," he said as he looked at his watch.

Kyana groaned. "I'm so tired!" She leaned her head against Jake's shoulder and closed her eyes.

Jake tipped his head to the side and eyed her. "I'm sure that we could ask Colonel Sheppard to go—"

Kyana shook her head stubbornly. "No, we can't sleep yet. There are people here on Atlantis trying to kill us. We need to continue."

_To Be Concluded. . ._


	12. Chapter 12

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 12/12

**Chapter 12**

"Give me your radio," Kyana said as she held her hand out.

Jake handed it to her. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Kyana smiled, _trust me _written in her eyes. She put on the headset and activated it. "Uncle John, we need orders. Who's next?" she asked, trying not to let her exhaustion seep through into her voice.

John immediately answered. "Tell Jake to meet Teyla outside room four. Kyana, just stand by. You'll be next with your dad in five when the guy wakes up."

"Wakes up? It's been almost a day. Does dad's weapon work that well?" Kyana asked. She'd only used the thing once, but it had been on the kill setting. Other than that, she didn't know that much about her dad's blaster – nor did she care to.

"No, he woke up a long time ago, got tired, and went back to sleep," John told her, laughter vibrating across the radio waves to her.

Kyana chuckled in response. "Thank you. See you later," she said. She terminated the connection and gave Jake his headset back. "Let's go to room four, you'll be with my mom," Kyana told Jake, trying to muster up the energy to stand up.

"If you're not going in, why don't you go to sleep?" he asked as he helped her up.

Kyana blinked a little and tried to look awake and alert. "No, I want to stay with you," she said. She stuck out her lower lip in a pout and gave him _the eyes_ that her mom always used on her dad – and which usually worked.

Jake obviously wasn't as susceptible. "No, Kya. Get some sleep – I'm serious. I'll send someone to wake you when it's your turn," he insisted.

Kyana decided not to tell him that she was going to be meeting her dad in less than five minutes for her next questioning session. "Okay," she said in a falsely resigned tone. She had no intent of actually going to bed, but if it made him happy to think that she was sleeping, then she'd let him think that.

Jake shot her an _I'm serious, Kya!_ look, then draped an arm over her shoulder as they walked to his interrogation room together. When they got there, Teyla was already in the room, standing in the corner eyeing the suspect. He was standing at the table, looking back just as intently.

"So, this is it," she said. She leaned up to give Jake a kiss on the cheek and then turned to go. "Kya," he said, stopping her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah?" she asked, feeling a flutter in her stomach at the look in his eyes.

"I had a lot of fun in there," he told her as he took a step closer to her.

"Me too," she said as she leaned forward and kissed him again, this time on the lips. She turned to leave again, knowing she shouldn't be late to meet her father.

"Kya!" Jake yelled after her.

"What?" she asked, walking backwards down the hall.

"Go to sleep."

"Yes, Jake."

They went their separate ways.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was more like half an hour later when Ronon and Kyana entered the interrogation room, he slightly ahead of her.

Kyana yawned. _Maybe I should've listened to Jake and gotten some sleep. Even twenty minutes would be better than none._ She shook that thought away and turned to watch her dad start the interrogation.

"What's your name?" her father asked. There was a definite growl in his voice.

"Um, Martin, my last name is Martin. I'm a maintenance guy here. I work for them, but just to pay the bills back home. Sorry, but this place is big on minimum wage," he said as he looked at Kyana. It was obviously that he was hoping that if he didn't look at Ronon, he would leave.

Kyana glanced up at the one-way window so see a profile. She kind of waved at it while Martin was looking at Ronon. The profile waved back, and Kyana smiled as she turned her attention back to the interrogation.

This was going to be a _long_ night.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake leaned back against the wall as he left his and Teyla's interrogation. "That was far too easy, but right now I'm so tired it felt like we were in there for an hour."

Teyla smiled thinly. Exhaustion had painted dark circles beneath her eyes, and she looked ashen-faced. "I believe we all need some sleep." She swallowed hard and turned two shades paler. "Will you please excuse me? I am – not feeling well." She barely waited for Jake's nod before fleeing down the hall, one hand over her mouth. She looked sick – _really_ sick.

Jake gazed worriedly after her. He knew that the stomach flu had been going around Atlantis on and off over the past few weeks, but he had assumed that the Dex family would be impervious. Apparently not. Then again, they were all tired – it may just be exhaustion.

He walked down the hall to Kyana and Ronon's interrogation room and keyed his headset. "I'm here," Jake said to John on the radio.

"Good. I just got a call from Teyla; she told me she'd brief me later." Sheppard sounded distracted. "How are Ronon and Kyana doin'?"

"I don't know, sir. It's too soon to say," he said as he watched Kyana and Ronon take turns interrogating Martin. He could hear their dialogue over the intercom system in the hall.

"Who's leading it?" John asked.

"Ronon. He's doing the classic 'If you don't' give me answers, I'll tear you limb-from-limb' act," Jake said. He'd been on the receiving end of that look more times than he cared to count – a price he was willing to pay for loving the man's beautiful, smart, and strong daughter.

"What's this guy's name?" John asked. Now he just sounded tired.

"Martin, sir. I feel sorry for him. Ronon doesn't even know that I'm here, and he's scaring me," Jake said genuinely. Kyana, however, did. She waved at him, and Jake quickly reciprocated.

John chuckled. "I'll tell you when Teyla starts feeling better, then you two can brief me on your interrogation. Sheppard out."

Jake turned his entire focus on the action.

"What are you hiding?" Ronon asked. His patience had already worn thin; it was now nearly at the breaking point.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Martin responded coyly, looking at Kyana.

Kyana sighed and leaned toward her father. "Um, Dad—" she tried to suggest something, but her voice was so low the mic didn't catch it.

Ronon could very clearly be heard. "No, Kyana, this kid knows something." Ronon looked at Martin and saw that the guy obviously felt bad for Kyana.

Jake almost grinned.

"I guess you could take over for a minute," Ronon said as he walked over to the corner, his hands up in an _I give up_ expression.

"I'm sorry about him. What does the enemy thing mean?" Kyana asked Martin, all innocence.

"Whatever you want it to." The way Martin worded it made it seem that he had all the answers.

"So you said they paid you? I thought that it was a morals thing," Kyana said.

Jake narrowed his eyes. It was the first time he'd noticed that Martin was slightly better dresses then most of the Atlantis personnel.

"Well, your morals are easily swayed when someone offers you three times your salary," Martin said as he leaned back, almost proud of himself.

"How do _they_ make that kind of money to pay _you_?" Kyana asked.

"Why should the cat make the bread when the little red hen will do it?" was Martin's smooth response.

Kyana sent a started look in her father's direction. "What?" She turned back to Martin and leaned forward, once more going for subtle intimidation.

"When you have a man in every department, things tend to get lost. Accidentally, of course." He said as he leaned forward.

Kyana automatically leaned back in response and stood up. That had been a little too close for comfort.

Jake scowled. "Sir, I think we're getting somewhere," he said into his radio he turned to the hallway. He didn't like _how_ they were getting there, but at least the guy was talking.

"Good, come up to Elizabeth's office. Teyla isn't feeling any better, so she said to go on without her." There was a pause, then, "No, belay that. I'm hungry. Meet me in the commissary."

Jake chuckled. "Five minutes, sir." He took off running.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake walked in to see John with two plates of food, one of which was half devoured.

"Thanks for waiting for me, sir," O'Neill said sarcastically as he sat down.

Sheppard looked up and smiled a little. "What? I said I was hungry. Plus, you said five minutes; it's been ten. I didn't start eating until you were late," John said as he took a bite of mashed potatoes.

"I had to make a pit stop," Jake said as he grabbed the other plate and dug in. He hadn't realized before, but he was hungry, too.

The two men ate in silence before John finally asked Jake what he and Teyla had found out.

Jake took a quick sip of water before responding. "Pretty much, we learned that this guy, Murphy, is pretty high up on the chain of command with OE. The thing that's strange is – as far as Atlantis goes – he's a handyman, and a bad one at that. He's been known to tear more things up than fix them." Jake spoke between bites.

"That _is_ weird," John agreed. He looked worried.

"Not really, sir. I mean, the main goal is to mess with anything that they disagree with. That's why this guy is up on the OE ladder, he is the spine that holds it together. He knows what he's doing. He's walking a very fine line, but he's doing it marvelously," Jake explained, and ate his corn.

Sheppard narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "I see. What else did you find out?" the Colonel had now made it all the way to his pie.

"Nothing much, just little things here and there that he's done. He was very selective about what he told us. I think he figures the stuff he told won't do anything to hurt OE in the long run." A thought struck. "Oh! One interesting fact: you know how last month, you bet that powering up the alien device would blow the lights and Doctor McKay said it wouldn't?" Jake asked around a mouthful of food.

"Yeah, I won a week's pay," John said proudly.

Jake made an apologetic face. "Actually, sir, no you didn't. Murphy doesn't like McKay so, when Rodney wasn't looking, he cranked up the power supply for just long enough to blow a fuse," Jake said as he took a drink of water.

John was silent, trying to figure out what to do with this information. "Don't tell Rodney," was all that he could come up with.

Jake grinned briefly. "Deal. Now, this Martin guy said they're paying people off to help them. Martin's in maintenance and wasn't getting enough money." Jake finished his meal and stood up. "I'm getting pudding, do you want any?" Jake asked John.

"No, but I got you some Jell-o, eat it." Sheppard motioned to Jake's tray.

"I hate Jell-o." Jake made a face and dropped off his tray, returning a moment later with his chocolate pudding.

"So, is that it?" John asked, finished with his meal. He was now well into a cup of coffee.

"No, he said a couple weird things, but it was all gibberish. I think he's trying to throw us off. With your permission, sir, I'd like to get back there," Jake said as he finished the pudding and reached for Sheppard's tray. He'd drop it off on his way out.

"Go ahead – and thanks, Lieutenant." John motioned toward the door.

Jake nodded and went in the opposite direction, grabbed two more trays, and headed back to the interrogation room. He knew Ronon and Kyana would probably be hungry when they finished up with Martin.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Jake got back to the interrogation room, he pulled up a chair to watch.

Things had switched while he was gone. Now Kyana was in the corner and Ronon was stalking back and forth in front of Martin.

Martin was visibly shaking, obviously intimidated by Ronon's mere presence.

"I'm going to ask you this one more time: Who are the people that you work for?" Dex asked as he put his hands on the table in leaned in close to Martin. His eyes were narrow and dangerous.

"It's moments like these that makes me glad that I'm on his good side – most of the time," Jake muttered to himself.

"Okay!" Martin cowered backwards. "They're separatists, like the NID's Trust operation. They're working for the IOA. It doesn't go all the way up, there aren't enough a lot of people in the IOA organization that know about _us_. If you ask me, it's a freak accident that you caught us. The guys that I'm working for are usually really sharp. If we had stuck to our first method, we could've gone unnoticed indefinitely." Martin said this with a strange ease, like it was good to get it off his chest.

_He didn't really mind spilling his guts, _Jake thought with a little amusement. _I guess the knowing that if he didn't spill his guts, Ronon would do it for him helped._

"Oh, what do you think their biggest downfall was?" Kyana asked as she stepped forward and entered back into the interrogation.

Martin quite gladly switched his focus back to Kyana. "Honestly, I don't think they have the big picture. They're so focused on making sure that Atlantis stays secure against themselves, they don't even know who the bad guys are. Their minds have been corrupt to the point that they can't even understand. Trust me, I've tried all that I can without getting killed."

That got attention.

"Killed? Why not just fired?" Ronon asked. This revelation opened a new door, with rather disturbing truths behind it. Jake had known that these IOA rebels were ruthless, but he'd just thought that they were after the Dexes.

_My gosh, this is much bigger than we could have ever imagined._ Suddenly, they were no longer in control. In hindsight, Jake realized that from the beginning, they never really had been.

_Well, that's an extremely disconcerting truth._ Jake shook of a sudden unconscious chill.

"Once OE, always OE," Martin was saying when O'Neill tuned back in to the conversation. "One of the good things about being with them is that there are no secrets; the bad thing is that everyone knows too much. It's different with them, a lot different. If you ask me, it's good to be out of it." The man certainly didn't look like he was lying.

"I think that we have all that we need." Ronon nodded to the two SFs at the back of the room, and they came forward and escorted Martin out.

Once he was gone, Jake entered with the food. "You guys did great! I think you found more out from him than everyone else put together. You make a great team. Here, I brought you food," Jake said as he sat the trays on the table.

"Is Teyla any better?" Ronon ignored the compliments altogether. He looked calm, but an undercurrent of concern lingered in his voice and eyes.

"No, last I heard, she was still vomiting." Jake tried not to sound _too_ worried. As if they didn't already have enough problems – the last thing they needed was someone getting sick.

"I'm going to check on her. Thanks." Ronon picked up his sandwich and ate it as he walked.

Once he had left, Kyana and Jake sat at the table together and they talked while Kyana ate.

Just as she was finishing, they heard over the intercom: "OE investigation team, we need you in Elizabeth's office. That means _everyone_."

Jake and Kyana stood up, and he grabbed her tray for her as they went through the door and down the hall. They were turning a corner when they heard Sheppard's afterthought: "with the exception of Teyla, of course."

They both chuckled, though it was obvious they were concerned about Teyla. After a quick tray drop-off, they headed to Doctor Weir's office.

They walked in to see that everyone else, including Teyla and Ronon, were waiting on them. John, Elizabeth, Ronon, Teyla, Jake, Kyana, and even Rodney crowded into the room. It was a claustrophobic's worst nightmare.

John didn't seem to be bothered as he offered a general smile to the room. "Good job, folks, we've done it. We have our answers, and we have a list. We're assembling a team right now to apprehend our buddies. You've all done a good job. Now, let's get some _rest_," John said to everyone from the center of the room.

He turned to face Ronon and Teyla, the latter of whom still looked tired and too pale. "I'm glad you're better, Teyla. We were starting to get worried," John said to her.

"Thank you, but I think it was just exhaustion, I had not had any food or water in almost a day. I suppose I deserved it," she said honestly, laughing very carefully.

Jake saw Kyana bite her lip. He glanced back and noticed how Teyla was leaning into her husband's side, looking grateful for the arm he had around her.

From the expression on Sheppard's face, he noticed it too. "Get some rest," he repeated.

Kyana shook her head and turned to Jake. "What time is it?" she asked.

"Noon," he said, frustrated. "We're going to be jet lagged for a long time," he said, laughing weakly as he sagged bonelessly into a chair.

"What's jet lag?" Kyana asked curiously.

Jake didn't want to answer so he ignored the question and let Doctor Weir answer for him.

Jake closed his eyes for a moment and drew the vestiges of his strength to himself. He needed to do this. "Requesting permission to lead the team to apprehend the OE, sir?" Jake said as he looked at John.

Sheppard regarded the look in his eye and hesitantly said: "Permission granted on one condition. If you fall asleep, you'll be taken off duty for two days. Is that understood?" His tone brooked no arguments.

"Yes sir," Jake said as he headed out. Kyana followed him and had almost caught up with him when she opened her mouth to ask a question.

"Yes, Kya, you can come. Let's go."

She smiled at him.

Jake smiled back. _Please let nothing get between us again._

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that evening, John walked out onto his and Elizabeth's balcony to see her leaning against the railing, gazing over the ocean with a little smile on her face.

She turned to look at him as he leaned next to her. "What's going on?"

"Jadin's got his brace on and he's already walking around. Kyana and Jake are playing Monopoly with all three kids to stay awake until nighttime. So far, everyone is happy and safe. We've officially gotten rid of all the men on the list. We replaced the current IOA leader with a new one that we can _trust_, and things are up and running again," he said proudly.

"Do you really think that's it? Problem's solved?" Elizabeth asked honestly, her intense gaze drilling into him.

John hesitated, then sighed heavily. How much he _wished_ he could believe that. . . "No. But, on the bright side, at least it's safe to resume regular activities." He avoided his wife's gaze, choosing to entrance himself with the waves lapping at the outer pier.

"And you did it all by yourself." There was a teasing lilt in Elizabeth's voice. As she spoke, she slid an arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I just did what you would do," he said as he hugged her tightly to his side.

"Look, the sun's almost setting. It's hard to think that all of this has happened in just over 48 hours. It's been rough," Elizabeth said, looking up at him with tired but content green eyes.

"Yeah, let's hope that tomorrow is better." And that's all they said. They stayed and watched the sunset, then went inside to get some much-needed rest.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Teyla bit her lip and glanced over her shoulder. Kyana and Jadin were both safely tucked in bed, and Ronon had been so exhausted he hadn't realized she'd gotten back up. For now, she didn't want them to know she had sneaked out of their quarters to come to the infirmary.

She had tried to glaze over how horrible she was feeling so Kyana and Jadin wouldn't know. However, there was no way she could hide it from her husband. He knew her much better than that, and she could see how worried he was.

It didn't help her feel any better about what could possibly be going on with her.

The infirmary lights were dimmed to nightly levels when she came in, but she knew the place so well she didn't stumble over anything on her way to Carson's office.

Beckett looked up tiredly from paperwork when she appeared in the doorway. He looked shocked to see her. "Lass! Ye look awful. Come in, come in, and sit down before ye fall down."

_Thank you for the vote of confidence,_ Teyla thought tiredly as she sank into the proffered chair. "I came here to talk to you so no one else would know."

Carson looked concerned. "Doctor/patient confidentiality, love. Just between you and me. What?"

Teyla closed her eyes and bit her lip again. Saying it would make it real, make it possible. But she had to get it out, just in case.

"Doctor Beckett, I-I think there is something terribly wrong with me."

_-End-_

_**The next fic in the series, "A Runner's Love," will be up soon! It will be written by fyd818. I promise it will answer all the questions the end of this fic just raised. I hope you enjoyed "Love's Enduring Struggle," thanks for reading!**_


End file.
